Chapter 30: Since He's a Dog, This Is Perfectly Normal

The sunglasses examiner was now starting to understand why this examinee had deliberately asked before the duel whether the examiner's mood could affect his test results.

Because if he could, he would right now have the urge to draw a huge "X" across this examinee's file and tell him to get lost as far as possible.

It was only the first turn, half his hand was gone, yet his field remained completely empty; incidentally, he had also been forced to discard a "Breaker the Magical Warrior" without even having the chance to set it—a powerful Trap that could directly destroy an opponent's monster during their attack, yet it was sent to the netherworld before it could even achieve its debut.

Of course, this thought was merely a fleeting one.

The sunglasses examiner temporarily suppressed that impulse.

Calm, must remain calm. His current identity was that of an examiner, a professional one; no matter what happened, he could not get angry.

You Xuan had entered the arena bearing the number 001, making his examination the one attracting the most attention among all current examinees. After this turn, even more gazes began converging on this duel arena, with many people growing curious about him.

"That boy named You Xuan is this year's top scorer," Asuka Tenjoin leaned against the railing. "How should I put it? His dueling feels a bit different from the top scorer I imagined."

"..."

Over by Jun Manjoume's side.

Minion A: "It's starting, it's starting! That You Xuan is at it again!"

"Exactly! That's the feeling!" Minion B added, "This development, this trajectory... it even makes Big Brother Manjoume feel like he's been tricked into an irrecoverable abyss!"

"You two are exaggerating too much."

Manjoume muttered.

He had clearly struggled for several turns before falling into the abyss of the netherworld.

Then he revealed a gloomy and horrifying expression.

"But if they think this is all there is to it, they are too naive. For that dog-like thing, this is only just the beginning."

The two minions looked at him with expressions of sympathy.

"Big Brother Manjoume really has experience."

"Yes, enough to make one's heart ache."

Manjoume: "Urusai (Shut up)!"

"..."

"My turn. Draw."

You Xuan calmly inserted another card into his Duel Disk.

"Spell Card 'Mischievous Twins'. I pay 1000 Life Points to randomly discard one card from your hand, then you choose one card from your hand to discard."

[You Xuan, LP 3000 → LP 2000]

One blue and one red demon flew out together, each clutching one of the examiner's hand cards, laughing mockingly as they flew away triumphantly.

Examiner: "..."

Secret Technique: Hand Evaporation Jutsu.

He pushed up his sunglasses and looked down at the single last card remaining in his hand.

[Continuous Spell - Chivalry.

Effect: Monsters on your field will not be destroyed by battle with monsters having the same ATK.]

Something completely meaningless.

Rounding it off, he essentially had no cards left to play.

If this were an anime, the sunglasses examiner should by now be nearing the critical point of a volcanic eruption, with steam shooting straight out of the top of his head.

The only things preventing him from angrily slamming his Duel Disk and rolling up his sleeves were his solid professional ethics and constant psychological self-suggestion.

I am a professional, cannot get angry, cannot...

You Xuan: "Normal Summon 'Witch of the Black Forest'."

[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1100]

"Witch of the Black Forest, direct attack."

[Examiner, LP 4000 → LP 2900]

The examiner stood there with a blackened face, motionless as he took the attack, his posture as if he were charging up a rage meter.

"Turn end."

"..."

Minion A in the stands: "It's really just like Big Brother Manjoume said."

Minion B also shook his head, even starting to feel a bit of sympathy for that unlucky examiner.

Manjoume said nothing, but with fingers interlaced and leaning forward to watch the duel's progress, he inadvertently revealed a smile.

"Heh heh... heh heh heh..."

The corners of Manjoume's mouth curled upward uncontrollably.

Honestly, he wasn't clear on why this was happening.

But seeing that examiner suffering down there felt like seeing himself from yesterday.

Suddenly, he felt an inexplicable sense of pleasure.

Only now did he suddenly realize that when he wasn't the one on the receiving end, netherworld dueling could actually bring such joy.

Minion B, peeking at his increasingly exaggerated smile from behind, couldn't help but whisper, "Big Brother, your smile is so perverted..."

"..."

"My turn. Draw!"

The examiner steadied his breathing, trying his best to focus his attention on the duel.

"Activating Spell Card 'Silent Dead' from my hand. This allows me to Special Summon a Normal Monster from the Graveyard in Defense Position, though a monster summoned by this effect cannot attack.

The card I wish to revive is this one, which you discarded to the Graveyard last turn..."

The examiner took the card ejected from the Graveyard zone of his Duel Disk.

"Millennium Shield!"

A gigantic shield emerged from the whirlpool of the underworld, spanning across the examiner's field.

[Millennium Shield, DEF 3000]

"It's actually the Millennium Shield!"

Immediately, students gasped in surprise.

Legend had it that this was a legendary shield passed down from the ancient Egyptian royal family, capable of blocking even the Burst Stream of Destruction from the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon, truly an indestructible legendary monster.

"Turn end."

Although he desperately wanted to make more moves, the examiner had no cards left to play. However, with the Millennium Shield boasting defense power on the level of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, it shouldn't be so easily broken through.

If he could hold out until the next turn, there might still be a chance.

"My turn," You Xuan said. "Activating Equip Spell 'Wonder Wand' from my hand. Only Spellcaster-type monsters can equip this.

I equip it to 'Witch of the Black Forest', increasing the equipped monster's ATK by 500."

[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1100 → ATK 1600]

"Next, I activate the second effect of 'Wonder Wand'. By sending the equipped monster and this card to the Graveyard, I can draw two cards.

I send 'Witch of the Black Forest' and 'Wonder Wand' to the Graveyard together, and draw two cards."

With two new cards drawn into his hand, You Xuan then pulled his deck directly from the Duel Disk to begin his combo.

"The effect of 'Witch of the Black Forest'. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add one monster with 1500 or less DEF from my Deck to my hand.

I add this card from my Deck to my hand."

He held up a card between two fingers to display it.

"Mahavira, DEF 1400, added to hand," You Xuan said. "Next, I Normal Summon 'Mahavira' in Attack Position."

[Mahavira, ATK 1550]

Mahavira was originally part of Yugi Muto's deck, later gifted by Yugi to Anzu Mazaki, and had also played an important role in the anime.

"Then, I activate the Equip Spell 'Blazing Inheritance' from my hand."

You Xuan inserted another card into his Duel Disk, the image of the Spell Card appearing in his back row.

"The monster equipped with 'Blazing Inheritance' gains 400 ATK," You Xuan said. "Furthermore, when the equipped monster attacks a monster in Defense Position, if its ATK exceeds that monster's DEF, it inflicts piercing damage."

The examiner understood: "I see. By equipping, you boost your ATK in one go to break through my defensive monster and deal me piercing damage?"

But the Millennium Shield's defense was a full three thousand points; breaking through it wouldn't be easy, let alone dealing effective damage.

To pierce through the Millennium Shield and complete the OTK in one go, this student would need to stack up five thousand nine hundred points of ATK, which was nearly impossible...

"Who said I was equipping this to my monster?"

You Xuan smiled slightly, pointing at the Millennium Shield on the opponent's field.

"The target I'm equipping is... 'Millennium Shield'!"

[Millennium Shield, ATK 0 → ATK 400]

Examiner: "?"

Equipping the opponent's monster? What does this mean?

Could it be that you think this game requires not only allocating resources to yourself but also allocating resources to your opponent?

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon', which can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field," You Xuan said. "The card I wish to destroy is 'Blazing Inheritance' on my own field."

Examiner: "??"

He was finding it harder and harder to understand what kind of confusing move this was.

Surely he doesn't think he's already secured victory and is just giving away two cards as a friendly gesture?

A black whirlwind swept You Xuan's back-row Spell Card up into the sky, where a bolt of lightning descended from above and shattered it into dust.

"This is completely meaningless," the examiner couldn't help but say. "Even if you do this, my Millennium Shield also..."

"Nani!!?"

He widened his eyes, staring in utter shock at his field, which had somehow become completely empty.

The Millennium Shield was gone.

No...

Where's my shield?

Where did that huge shield go?

He couldn't help but blurt out, "Where did my shield go?"

You Xuan smiled. "I sent it to another dimension."

Examiner: "???"

What the hell? Do you believe I'll send your ass to another dimension?

Seeing the examiner teetering on the brink of another rage-induced meltdown, You Xuan explained patiently, "The Equip Spell 'Blaze Accelerator' doesn't just boost the equipped monster's ATK and grant piercing damage; it also has a side effect, teacher."

"That is, when this card leaves the field, the monster equipped with it is banished from the game."

At these words, the crowd watching nearby instantly erupted in an uproar.

"Equipping the opponent's monster with a buffing Spell, then exploiting its side effect to remove that monster..." Asuka's expression was complex. "How should I put it? It's certainly impressive, it's just..."

She couldn't immediately find the right description.

But the thought swirling in her mind could essentially be summed up in two words.

Diabolical.

"That's the feeling; it certainly seems like the kind of tactic this guy would come up with."

Although Manjoume was momentarily startled by this combo at first glance, he quickly accepted the premise.

Well, because the one standing opposite was a dog, after all.

Coming up with such a tactic, such a usage, seemed only natural.

You Xuan calmly revealed two more cards.

"Activating the Equip Spells 'Axe of Despair' and 'Mage Power,' equipping them both to 'Mahavairocana'."

The black mage on the field slowly opened her eyes; an axe with a demon's head floated beside her, while golden magical energy enveloped her entire body.

"The effect of 'Axe of Despair' increases the equipped monster's ATK by 1000 points."

"The effect of 'Mage Power' increases ATK by 500 points for each Spell or Trap Card on my field. I have two Equip Cards, so that's an increase of 1000 points."

"Combined, the two Equip Cards raise the ATK by 2000 points."

[Mahavairocana, ATK 1550 → ATK 3550]

"And now, 'Mahavairocana's' own effect!" You Xuan pointed at the mage on the field. "For each card equipped to her, this card's ATK increases by 500."

"Since a total of two cards are equipped, the ATK increases by another 1000."

[Mahavairocana, ATK 3550 → ATK 4550]

Waves of gasps rose once again within the examination hall.

"ATK 4550!?"

Marufuji Sho, an examinee who hadn't yet dueled, was stunned. "Higher than the legendary Obelisk... no, even higher than Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's ATK!"

It was undoubtedly the ceiling for attack power seen in the entire examination venue today.

"Can this guy reach such high attack power so casually?"

Minion Yi nearly fell out of his seat.

Manjoume, however, wasn't particularly surprised, though his expression grew increasingly gloomy.

Yes, he had realized long ago that that dog bastard wasn't just about screwing people over.

Manjoume had long suspected that this guy only messed with people because he enjoyed it.

Or rather, breaking people's spirits was simply part of his tactics.

Yet, in reality, even setting that aspect aside, this guy...

...was also very strong.

Because with a little thought, it was clear the examiner had no cards left to play and no means of defense; even with the piercing Millennium Shield, he could have secured the kill. But he deliberately didn't.

Clearly, he found sending the examiner's Millennium Shield to another dimension more enjoyable.

"Mahavairocana," You Xuan said. "Direct attack."

[Examiner, LP 2900 → LP 0]

(End of Chapter)