"Wait, Ilin, haven't you noticed the biggest difference in Aisha compared to before?" Another first-year student, who had also noticed something unusual about Aisha's duel, reminded her. "Did you see? Aisha actually has cards set in her back row now!"
Ilin, as if struck by a sudden realization, exclaimed, "Oh, really! Little Ai, she finally managed to craft some magic and trap cards?"
In every duel before this, Aisha had never used magic or trap cards because her deck had no.
"So, there really is a difference now. Otherwise, you wouldn't have the courage to stand before me like this."
As the turn shifted to Kevin, who was going second, he also drew a card from his Spirit Eye.
"But no matter how much you change, Aisha Yuna Carlos, as the bottom feeder, you can never surpass me!"
Selecting a monster card from his hand, Kevin threw it onto the duel field. In the glow of materialized mana, a lizard-like monster emerged.
"I summon [Lizard Soldier] in attack position!"
[Lizard Soldier ★★★ (3 stars) Wind]
[Dragon Type ATK: 1100 DEF: 800]
A monster wielding a sword and shield, with decent stats for a 3-star monster. As soon as Kevin successfully summoned it, the battle began.
"Battle phase! Destroy the face-down defense position monster, Lizard Soldier!—『Iron Blade Slash』!"
The card Aisha had set in face-down defense position was forcibly flipped open, revealing its true form, and then instantly sliced in two.
[Yuyu ★ Light]
[Fairy Type ATK: 300 DEF: 100]
A 1-star weak monster shaped like a block of tofu with a question mark on its head, Yuyu was effortlessly destroyed by Lizard Soldier.
As the tofu was cut in half, the card shattered and was sent to the graveyard.
[Yuyu] destroyed.
The intense shockwave from the sword strike left You Ling, who was experiencing real monster summoning for the first time, utterly amazed.
"Real duels with world-destroying monsters... That was the dream of every duelist in my previous world!"
And now, the intense battles that could only be imagined through cards in the past were unfolding vividly before You Ling's eyes.
"I'm getting excited!" Even though his monster had been destroyed first, You Ling couldn't suppress the excited smile on his face.
"Little Ai, she's still using weak monsters, but she's actually smiling?" Aisha's unusually cheerful reaction made Ilin worry. "And that smile... is that really something Little Ai could pull off? It's so strange!"
Having gained the upper hand in the first exchange, Kevin confirmed that no matter how much Aisha changed, her deck full of weak, non-combat monsters would remain the same.
"Pointless struggle. I set one card face-down in my magic and trap zone and end my turn!"
Kevin also flung a card from his hand onto the back row, setting it face-down.
"My turn, draw."
As the turn began again, You Ling drew a card through Aisha's slender fingers and glanced at it.
Aisha: "Mr. You Ling, this card is—!"
"It came at just the right time." Continuing to play defensively, You Ling flung the card he had drawn onto the field.
"I set one monster in face-down defense position again and end my turn."
"Hiding behind face-down monsters, too scared to summon anything openly, huh, Aisha Yuna?"
From the start of the duel until now, You Ling had only summoned monsters in face-down defense position. This behavior seemed to irritate Kevin greatly.
"Defense is also a strategy, you know? Save your arrogance for after you actually beat me, Kevin Seto!"
Seeing You Ling provocatively taunt Kevin without hesitation, Aisha, in her soul state, immediately panicked.
"Ahhh, no, Mr. You Ling! I would never say something like that. Please don't do anything unnecessary!"
"Then you've really been holding back all this time, Aisha."
As the saying goes, if you don't talk trash while playing cards, you might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes.
Even if you lose everything, you can't lose in terms of attitude.
"My turn, draw!"
While Aisha and You Ling were talking, Kevin had already drawn his card and started his next turn.
"Wait until I actually beat you? Fine, I'll grant your wish this turn. Let me show you the gap between a bottom feeder and an elite! Monster summon—[Valkyrie of Divine Power]!"
[Valkyrie of Divine Power ★★★★ (4 stars) Light]
[Warrior Type ATK: 1800 DEF: 1050]
Amidst the sacred glow of summoning magic, the pure white angelic wings of [Valkyrie of Divine Power] unfurled. Kevin Seto's summon this turn drew gasps not just from the first-years but also from many second-years.
"A 4-star monster with 1800 attack points is practically at the peak of strength for this level. Kevin Seto truly lives up to his reputation as the strongest in the grade with a 100% win rate."
"But it's not over yet!" Kevin pulled a magic card from his hand and flung it toward the newly summoned [Valkyrie of Divine Power].
"—Activate the Equip Magic Card [Light of the Spirits]!"
[Light of the Spirits - Equip Magic Card Effect: Can only be equipped to a Light-attribute monster. The equipped monster gains 400 ATK and loses 200 DEF.]
"I equip [Light of the Spirits] to [Valkyrie of Divine Power], increasing her attack by 400 points!"
[Valkyrie of Divine Power ATK: 1800 → 2200]
Ilin muttered nervously, "That's a C-rank equip spell! Now [Valkyrie of Divine Power]'s attack has surpassed 2000 points."
Currently, Kevin's field had one [Lizard Soldier] and one [Valkyrie of Divine Power] with over 2000 attack points.
In contrast, Aisha's field only had one face-down defense monster.
If it was another weak monster like last turn, it would likely be instantly destroyed by the 2200 attack points of [Valkyrie of Divine Power].
"Battle phase! My monsters, attack! Use [Lizard Soldier] to attack your face-down defense monster!"
Clearly, Kevin had the same plan.
First, use [Lizard Soldier] to clear the defense-position monster, then use [Valkyrie of Divine Power] to attack directly, dealing 2200 damage to finish off Aisha in one blow.
"Stop hiding behind weaklings!"
The sharp blade of [Lizard Soldier] once again flipped open Aisha's face-down defense monster.
"Hehe, you fell for it," You Ling (Aisha) chuckled triumphantly. "The monster I set in defense position is—[Witch of the Star Chalice]!"
[Witch of the Star Chalice ★★ Water]
[Spellcaster Type ATK: 0 DEF: 2100]
Floating out from the flipped card, the blue-haired girl surrounded by clear water magic barriers took the full brunt of [Lizard Soldier]'s attack.
"Wow~" Seeing the familiar card, Irena's face lit up with surprise.
"A monster with 2100 defense points surpasses your [Lizard Soldier]'s attack. The difference of 1000 points will be reflected back to you as damage!"
No one expected that in this duel of the weakest versus the strongest, the first person to take a whopping 1000 points of damage would be the strongest—Kevin
_______