Chapter 30: It’s Perfectly Normal—It’s a Dog, After All

The examiner in sunglasses was beginning to understand why this examinee had specifically asked before the duel whether the examiner's mood could affect his final score.

If it were possible, he now had the urge to draw a giant "X" on this examinee's file and tell him to get as far away as possible.

It was only the first turn, yet he had already lost half his hand, his side of the field was completely empty, and he had even been forced to discard "Blast Held by a Tribute"—a powerful trap capable of destroying an opponent's monster upon attack—before he had even had the chance to set it. It had been banished to the abyss without ever seeing the light of day.

Of course, this thought was only fleeting.

The examiner suppressed the impulse for the time being.

Stay calm. He had to stay calm. He was an examiner, a professional one, and he could not lose his temper no matter what happened.

Youxuan entered the arena under the identification number 001, and his exam had naturally garnered the most attention among all the candidates. After this turn, even more gazes converged on this dueling field, and quite a few people began to grow curious about him.

"So that boy named Youxuan is this year's top-ranked candidate," Alexis Rhodes said, leaning against the railing. "How should I put this? His dueling... it feels a bit different from what I imagined for the top-ranked student..."

"..."

Over by Chazz Princeton's side:

"It’s starting! It’s starting! That Youxuan is at it again!" one of his lackeys exclaimed.

"That's right! That's the feeling!" the second lackey added. "This playstyle, this progression... it’s exactly the kind of feeling that dragged Boss Chazz into the abyss!"

"You guys are exaggerating," Chazz muttered.

He had clearly struggled for a few turns... before falling into the abyss. He then wore a grim, horrified expression.

"But if they think that's all there is to it, they’re too naive. For that scumbag, this is just the beginning..."

The two lackeys looked at him with sympathy.

"Boss Chazz really has experience..."

"Yeah, it’s truly heartbreaking..."

Chazz: "Shut up!"

"..."

"My turn. Draw." Youxuan calmly inserted another card into his duel disk.

"I activate the Spell card 'Delinquent Duo.' By paying 1000 Life Points, I discard one random card from your hand, and you must then discard another card of your choice."

[Youxuan, LP 3000 → LP 2000]

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

Examiner: "..."

The secret technique: Hand Evaporation.

He adjusted his sunglasses and looked down at the very last card in his hand.

[Continuous Spell: Chivalry. Effect: Monsters on your side of the field cannot be destroyed in battle with monsters of equal attack.]

It was completely meaningless. For all intents and purposes, he had nothing left to play.

If this were an anime, the examiner would be steaming at the top of his head, approaching the brink of a volcanic eruption. The only things keeping him from throwing his duel disk and rolling up his sleeves were his sterling professional conduct and constant mental self-suggestion.

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

Youxuan: "I summon 'Witch of the Black Forest'."

[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1100]

"Witch of the Black Forest, attack directly."

[Examiner, LP 4000 → LP 2900]

The examiner stood there with a dark face, taking the attack without moving, as if he were building up his rage meter.

"Turn end."

"..."

On the viewing platform, the first lackey said, "It’s exactly like Boss Chazz said."

The second lackey shook his head, even starting to sympathize with the unlucky examiner.

Chazz didn't say a word, but he clasped his hands together and leaned forward to watch the duel progress, and quite involuntarily... a smile appeared on his face.

"Heh... heh heh..."

Chazz’s lips couldn't help but curl upward.

Honestly, he didn't even know why. But seeing the examiner suffer down there, much like he had the day before, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of pleasure.

Only then did he realize with a start that when he wasn't the one on the receiving end, these "abyssal" duels could actually be quite enjoyable.

The second lackey watched his increasingly exaggerated smile from behind and couldn't help but whisper, "Boss, your smile is really creepy..."

"..."

"My turn, draw!"

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

"I activate the Spell card 'Silent Doom' from my hand, which allows me to revive a Normal Monster from my graveyard in defense position. However, the monster summoned by this effect cannot attack. I will revive the card you discarded to the graveyard last turn..."

The examiner took the card ejected from his graveyard zone.

"Millennium Shield!"

A massive shield emerged from the vortex of the underworld, standing firm on the examiner's field.

[Millennium Shield, DEF 3000]

"It’s actually the Millennium Shield!" some students exclaimed.

Legend has it that this shield was passed down from the ancient Egyptian royal family. It is said to be able to block even the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon's Burst Stream of Destruction—a legendary monster of absolute defense.

"Turn end."

Although he wanted to do more, the examiner had no cards left to play. But this was the Millennium Shield, with defense comparable to a Blue-Eyes White Dragon; it shouldn't be broken through so easily. If he could hold out until the next turn, he might still have a chance.

"My turn," Youxuan said. "I activate the Equip Spell 'Wonder Wand' from my hand. It can only be equipped to a Spellcaster-type monster. I equip it to 'Witch of the Black Forest,' increasing the equipped monster's attack by 500."

[Witch of the Black Forest, ATK 1100 → 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."

Youxuan drew two new cards and then proceeded to play from his hand.

"The effect of 'Witch of the Black Forest.' When this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add a monster with 1500 or less defense from my deck to my hand."

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

"Mahaama the Fairy Dragon, 1400 defense, added to my hand," Youxuan said. "Then, I Normal Summon 'Mahaama the Fairy Dragon' in attack position."

[Mahaama the Fairy Dragon, ATK 1550]

Mahaama the Fairy Dragon was also in Yugi Muto’s deck, later gifted to Tea Gardner, and had played an important role in the anime.

"Then, I activate the Equip Spell 'Blast Held by a Tribute' from my hand."

Youxuan inserted another card into his duel disk, and the image of the Spell card appeared on his back row.

"The monster equipped with 'Blast Held by a Tribute' gains 400 attack points," Youxuan said. "Furthermore, when the equipped monster attacks a defense position monster, if its attack exceeds the defense, it deals piercing damage."

The examiner understood: "I see. Increasing the attack to break through the defensive monster and deal piercing damage?"

But the Millennium Shield had 3000 defense. Breaking through it wouldn't be easy, let alone dealing significant damage. To pierce through the Millennium Shield for a finish, this student would need to muster 5700 attack points in one go—which was nearly impossible.

"Who said I was going to equip it to my own monster?"

Youxuan smiled slightly and pointed at the Millennium Shield on the opponent's field.

"The target I am equipping it to is... the 'Millennium Shield'!"

[Millennium Shield, ATK 0 → 400]

Examiner: "?"

Equipping an opponent's monster? What was that supposed to mean? Did he think this game was about managing resources for the opponent as well as oneself?

"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field," Youxuan said. "I will destroy the 'Blast Held by a Tribute' on my own field."

Examiner: "??"

The moves were becoming increasingly baffling. He couldn't possibly think he was so secure that he was giving away two cards as a gesture of friendship, could he?

A black whirlwind swept the Spell card in Youxuan's back row into the air, and a bolt of lightning shattered it into pieces.

"That's pointless," the examiner couldn't help but say. "Even if you do that, my Millennium Shield is..."

"...Nani!?"

He widened his eyes, staring in utter disbelief to see that his field was empty.

The Millennium Shield was gone.

"Where is my shield?" he couldn't help but ask. "Where did such a huge shield go?"

Youxuan smiled: "I sent it to another dimension."

Examiner: "???"

What the hell? Did he want to get sent to another dimension himself?

Seeing the examiner on the verge of another explosion, Youxuan explained patiently: "The Equip Spell 'Blast Held by a Tribute' not only has the ability to boost attack and grant piercing damage, but it also has a side effect, teacher. That is, when this card leaves the field, the monster it was equipped to is banished from the game."

The onlookers were in an uproar.

"This... using a spell that gives a buff to the opponent's monster to exploit a side effect and remove it..." Alexis said, her expression complex. "How should I put this? It’s certainly impressive, but..."

She couldn't find the right words. But the thoughts in her heart could be summed up in two words: "Abyssal."

"That’s the feeling. It’s exactly the kind of tactic that guy would think of."

Although Chazz was surprised by the combo, he quickly accepted it. Yes, because he was dealing with a scumbag. Coming up with such tactics and such uses seemed like a matter of course.

Youxuan calmly revealed two more cards.

"I activate the Equip Spells 'Axe of Despair' and 'Mage Power,' both equipped to 'Mahaama the Fairy Dragon.'"

The black magician on the field slowly opened her eyes, an axe with a demon’s head floating beside her, and golden magic enveloped her entire body.

"The effect of 'Axe of Despair' increases the equipped monster's attack by 1000. The effect of 'Mage Power' increases attack by 500 for every Spell and Trap card on my side of the field. I have two Equip Spells, so it increases by 1000. That’s a total of 2000 attack points."

[Mahaama the Fairy Dragon, ATK 1550 → 3550]

"And then there's the effect of 'Mahaama the Fairy Dragon' itself!" Youxuan pointed at the magician on the field. "For every card equipped to her, this card's attack increases by 500. Since two cards are equipped in total, the attack increases by another 1000."

[Mahaama the Fairy Dragon, ATK 3550 → 4550]

Another wave of exclamations erupted in the arena.

"Attack power... 4550!?"

Syrus Truesdale, a candidate who hadn't competed yet, was stunned: "That’s higher than the legendary Obelisk... no, even higher than the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

It was the highest attack power seen in the entire exam hall that day.

"This guy... can he reach such high attack power so easily?"

The second lackey almost fell out of his seat.

Chazz wasn't entirely surprised, but his expression grew increasingly grim. Yes, he had realized long ago that this scumbag wasn't just good at trapping people. He had long suspected that this delight in trapping people was simply because he enjoyed it, or rather, manipulating people's mental states was part of his tactics.

However, even setting that aside, this guy...

...was also very strong.

"Mahaama the Fairy Dragon," Youxuan snapped his fingers. "Attack directly."

[Examiner, LP 2900 → 0]