Chapter 53: Simple Probe

"Spell Card, Simple Fusion: Pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon one Level 6 or lower non-effect Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck."

Tiancheng Guang pulled open his Extra Deck, drew one card, and showed it to his opponent: "I Special Summon—Wing Dragon!"

The Frost Dinosaur roared with icy winds and leapt directly from the Extra Deck.

"Uh… Simple Fusion?" Though Guochuan was slightly intimidated by the opponent's declaration, he sighed in relief upon seeing the card used.

He had been terrified the opponent would pull out some card nonexistent in their dimension—like the ones he'd seen in videos, used by the duelist named Kaiba Rainer, which looked nothing like human cards.

Things like drawing five cards at once for free—terrifying.

In comparison, Simple Fusion was also a card used in their world; many duelists used it to gather high-level Xyz materials.

"The monster summoned by Simple Fusion can't attack, and it's destroyed at the End Phase—what's the point!?" He snapped back to reality and shouted at his opponent.

"Not necessarily." Tiancheng Guang revealed a second card from his hand: "Spell Card, Sudden Mutation."

What the hell is this?

Guochuan froze.

"Banish one monster on the field as a Tribute. Special Summon one Fusion Monster of the same Level from the Extra Deck! I banish Wing Dragon to Special Summon Golden Demon Elephant!"

Golden Demon Elephant, Level 6, Dark Attribute, Zombie-Type, ATK 2200.

"Hmm… So now your monster can attack, but its ATK is still lower than mine!"

"Equip Spell, Spectral Afterimage."

"This combo—"

Students watching the duel smiled upon seeing these three cards; Judai, who had witnessed it firsthand, burst out laughing: "Isn't this the same chain that Hikari used during his test at the Fusion Department?"

"Yeah, perfect for testing the waters against Dimensional duelists."

"Activate the effect of Spectral Afterimage: Once per turn, you can perform a Fusion or Special Summon one Level 5 【Doppler Spawn】 with the same Race, Attribute, and ATK as the equipped monster."

"I Special Summon—Doppler Spawn."

Doppler Spawn, Level 5, Dark Attribute, Zombie-Type, ATK 2200.

"Battle: Golden Demon Elephant, attack Infiltrated Long Wang Bahamut!"

"So again, my monster has higher ATK!"

"The effect of a monster equipped with Spectral Afterimage activates only when it declares an attack against an opponent's monster: that opponent's monster's ATK drops by the equipped monster's ATK value!"

Bahamut ATK: 2350 → 150.

"What!"

Boom—

The Demon Elephant's twin tusks pierced through the flying dragon.

Guochuan LP: 4000 → 2050.

"Doppler Spawn, attack—"

"I activate my face-down card: Xyz Rebirth. Select one Xyz Monster from your graveyard to Special Summon, then overlay this card beneath it as an Xyz Material!"

The recently defeated Long Wang instantly revived from the graveyard, now encircled by a black star.

"Attack Reversal—I end my Battle Phase."

"Aww—so close!" Judai shook his head in regret inside the academy hall.

"It couldn't be helped," Sanze Sanze Dadi nodded lightly. "We don't know Guochuan's strength in their world, but he's still the representative of a Year One duelist academy—how could he be so easily defeated?"

"If it had been Yu Long back then, he'd have already moved to the next round," Wan Teng Xiang mused.

Then he suddenly shivered, feeling as if vicious eyes were glaring at him from all around.

Tiancheng Guang glanced at his hand and covered two cards.

"End my turn. Your turn."

"Whoa, you scared me!" Guochuan wiped sweat from his brow, turned to the camera from his world, and struck several poses, waving his arms wildly at his hometown viewers: "Don't worry! That was just casual play—now it's serious!"

"My turn, draw—" He turned back, wiping sweat again. "Phew, that was close—I almost got one-shot."

"Honestly, our world has Fusion Summoning too, but you're the first to stand here shouting that Fusion is superior… Let me show you: Fusion is ancient history!"

"Our Xyz Summoning is far stronger than you imagine!"

"My turn: Activate the effect of Infiltrated Long Wang Bahamut. Remove one Xyz Material. Target one monster on your field—Golden Demon Elephant. Discard one Infiltrated Blood Stone from your hand to gain control of that monster!"

"Hummm!!!"

The Demon Elephant writhed in protest, but under the black dragon's beam, it could not resist—it was dragged over, now under Guochuan's control.

"Next, I Normal Summon my second Rescue Rabbit!"

"Second Rescue Rabbit?" Tiancheng Guang raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying your deck… contains many Normal Monsters?"

"Of course," Guochuan nodded decisively. "Activate Rescue Rabbit's effect: Banish it to Special Summon two identical Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters. I Special Summon two Luminous Abysses!"

"So that's how it works…" Tiancheng Guang pondered.

"What?"

"Sorry—I just realized something." Tiancheng Guang looked at his opponent; the persistent sense of danger he'd carried within him eased slightly.

The opponent didn't truly understand Xyz—he was merely relying on the raw power of Xyz Monsters.

But that was normal too. Just like in the Fusion Department of the Duel Academy, many students joined simply because they thought Fusion was strong.

Clearly, Guochuan from the X-Dimension, having easier access to powerful Xyz Monsters, looked down on other worlds.

"Let me show you."

"I flip my face-down card: Flame Sword Dance."

Tiancheng Guang then revealed his field's face-down card: "This is a trap card I commonly use. When an opponent Special Summons, I can directly Special Summon a Fusion Monster from the Flame Swordsman series from the Extra Deck. It's convenient and disruptive—I've set up three of them."

"Uh… why are you explaining this?" Guochuan never expected his opponent to start detailing his dueling strategy mid-battle.

"The reason is simple: I respect and revere Fusion. I consider Fusion the noblest form of Summoning in the world—but I also hold Xyz in awe. After all, the ability to Special Summon without Fusion Cards is truly impressive."

"Yet between Xyz and Fusion lies an unbridgeable chasm!"

"Flame Sword Dance's effect: Special Summon Flame Swordsman!" Tiancheng Guang waved his hand. "Then, Flame Sword Dance's effect: Cover one of your Luminous Abysses!"

"Ah!" Guochuan's expression changed.

A covered monster cannot be used as Xyz Material!

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(End of Chapter)