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Chapter 425: The Duelist with Zero Fighting Spirit and the Big Dummy Overflowing with Fighting Spirit
It was another clear morning. Inside the bustling Kaiba Dome, Kujaku Mai watched the large screen on the Central Stage with a strange expression.
The screen displayed the Duelists scheduled for the first Duel of the KC Cup today. Yugi, Hayato, Tristan , and others were already seated, but Joey Wheeler, usually the most enthusiastic about the KC Cup, was absent. From this, it was clear that Joey Wheeler was up first again.
Beside her, Tristan had just finished a phone call with Shizuka, Joey Wheeler's sister, who was far across the ocean in Domino City. Seeing Kujaku Mai staring at the screen, he ranted, "Kaiba, he definitely rigged the KC Cup Duel schedule. Otherwise, why is Joey Wheeler always the first one up?"
The current time was exactly eight o'clock in the morning. However, the time difference between Japan and America was a full fourteen hours. It was around ten o'clock at night in Japan, and when Yugi and the others first arrived in America, it took them quite some time to adjust to the time difference.
Although thanks to KaibaCorp, Shizuka could watch the KC Cup broadcast on television without delay even from far away in Japan, ten o'clock at night was still quite late for Shizuka, who had never had the habit of staying up late. After all, before her eye surgery, Shizuka had always maintained good habits to protect her eyesight and try to slow down the weakening of her vision, although it didn't help much.
Furthermore, Shizuka hadn't taken time off school like Yugi and the others. Since she had to go to school the next day, although she really wanted to see her brother Joey Wheeler's victorious appearance on television, she could only regretfully rest early.
Fortunately, the television in Shizuka's home still had a recording function, allowing her to record the program being broadcast and watch it later. She had done just that the day before yesterday.
However, instead of waiting until the next evening after school to watch the recorded program to find out about her brother's battle situation, Shizuka had a faster way. That was through Tristan, who had accompanied Shizuka after her surgery during Battle City and conveniently got her mobile phone number.
Honda had been watching the KC Cup very seriously these past two days, not because he had such a great passion for Duel Monsters, but so he could remember the Duelists who appeared and the situation of their duels in his mind, allowing him to have more topics to talk about with Shizuka after she watched the replay.
Also, as a side benefit, Tristan would always estimate the time in Japan in advance and send a text message to Shizuka in Japan around five o'clock in the afternoon in America, so that Shizuka, who would just be waking up at seven o'clock, could know Joey Wheeler's battle situation immediately.
The cost of international calls and text messages?
Did Tristan lack that bit of money? Just a little bit of phone bill could give him a legitimate reason to contact Shizuka. In his opinion, it was a huge profit, okay?
Hearing Tristan's rant, Kujaku Mai also withdrew her line of sight from the screen. However, the reason she was staring at the screen wasn't actually because of "Joey Wheeler," Joey Wheeler's English name, displayed on the screen, but because she was looking at the name of Joey Wheeler's opponent displayed on the other half of the screen.
No.1919, Northwood Reiko. It looks like a Japanese name, and "Reiko"? It sounds like a female name.
A strange sense of crisis suddenly arose in Kujaku Mai's heart, and then she suddenly blushed.
Really, even if Joey Wheeler's opponent was a woman, or even if he found a girlfriend, it had nothing to do with her!
However, Kujaku Mai couldn't even convince herself of this idea. No one knew what her inner thoughts truly were.
But thinking of Joey Wheeler's thick-skinned personality, Kujaku Mai felt a little relieved.
It didn't matter if he met a female opponent. With Joey Wheeler's low EQ personality, who could he possibly attract? How could anyone like that kind of dense guy?
Having barely prepared his Deck, Joey Wheeler walked out of the Player Waiting Room with a proud expression, closing his eyes and enjoying the cheers from his fans, few but definitely present among the audience. He walked onto the Duel Platform, waiting for his opponent to appear.
Joey Wheeler was initially a bit annoyed with Kaiba about being scheduled as the first Duelist to appear again. He even imagined Kaiba's disdainful expression when rigging the KC Cup.
'If a third-rate Duelist like Joey Wheeler with a second-rate Deck appears in the middle of the KC Cup, the popularity that the KC Cup has finally built up will definitely be dragged down by that Commoner. Putting him at the end would also be a bad finish, so let him go first.'
Although he hadn't heard Kaiba say these words himself, Joey Wheeler firmly believed that Kaiba definitely thought this way.
However, later, Joey Wheeler, after all, had an unusually resilient spirit and a thick skin, and he easily convinced himself with another idea.
"Being the first to appear clearly means Yours Truly's strength is very strong, most suitable for the opening." Standing on his Field with his hands on his hips, Joey Wheeler showed a silly smile. "And even if other Duelists perform excellently afterward, how could they leave a deeper impression than Lord Joey Wheeler?"
It's really good to be the first to appear, really good, hehehehe~
As Joey Wheeler was laughing, he suddenly realized that at some point, a black-haired young girl wearing glasses was already standing opposite him, looking at him with fear and resistance.
"Ahem, well, you're my opponent, right!" Joey Wheeler coughed twice, trying to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere on the Duel Platform at the moment, and spoke first. "Um, your name is..."
While speaking, Joey Wheeler looked up at the screen next to the Duel Platform. Although he had seen the other person's name before the Duel, as everyone knows, Joey Wheeler's memory only lasts for 3 seconds. It only takes "1, 2, Bang!", and Joey Wheeler can completely forget certain memories and write in new ones, just like a Pokémon.
"Northwood Reiko? Northwood Reiko, huh?" Joey Wheeler first read the young girl's name displayed on the screen in somewhat unfamiliar English, then translated it back into Japanese and said it again.
Joey Wheeler felt his luck was quite good. Since the Qualifiers of the KC Cup until now, most of the opponents he had encountered surprisingly spoke Japanese. He even met an American who spoke Japanese better than English, similar to Pegasus, which meant Joey Wheeler didn't have to force himself to communicate in his heavily accented English.
Last round he met Rex, and this round, this young girl named "Northwood Reiko" also seems like she's Japanese. How lucky.
Looking at Joey Wheeler, Northwood Reiko nodded timidly, slightly opening her mouth as if to say something, hesitating two or three times but unable to speak. With great difficulty, she finally made up her mind and said softly, "U-um, h-hello, I am Northwood Reiko."
After saying that sentence haltingly, Northwood Reiko seemed to have finally mustered her courage and smoothly said, "In short, I will do my best in the Duel."
Although she said words that sounded like she was cheering herself on, no matter how Joey Wheeler looked, he couldn't see any fighting spirit in Northwood Reiko.
'Is this person really a Duelist?' Joey Wheeler sized up Northwood Reiko. She was wearing a white cashmere long-sleeved shirt, with a black sleeveless shirt over it, and below was a light gray pleated skirt that reached her knees, paired with white tube socks that weren't too long. She looked like a girl next door.
Joey Wheeler even felt that Northwood Reiko was simply a typical Japanese high school student, and the type who was a good girl with excellent grades.
'She has absolutely no drive as a Duelist, her fighting spirit is fundamentally 0.'
Joey Wheeler evaluated her in his inner thoughts.
Although Joey Wheeler's inner thoughts were quite pure, genuinely judging Northwood Reiko's personality without any thought of coveting her beauty, after all, Joey Wheeler was a steadfast person. If he said he liked blonde big waves, he liked blonde big waves, whether they were 18, 38, or 58.
However, unfortunately, his gaze as he sized up Northwood Reiko's attire was fully captured by Kujaku Mai in the Spectator Area through the footage on the large screen.
"Joey Wheeler, that pervert, instead of starting the Duel properly, what is he looking at?!" Kujaku Mai's fist was clenched particularly tightly, and behind her, flames seemed to ignite with a sound like "Blazing Fire Sword Draw".
Without making Kujaku Mai, who had gotten angry for no reason, wait too long, the Referee announced the start of the Duel at Kaiba's signal.
Hearing the Referee's words, Joey Wheeler inserted his Deck into his Duel Disk and said with high fighting spirit, "Just so you know, I'm very strong, don't get burned by my sword!"
"Duel!"
"Eeek!" Startled slightly by Joey Wheeler's loud voice, Northwood Reiko's hard-won courage flinched back. "I-I will also Duel seriously, Duel."
[Northwood Reiko: 4000LP]
[Joey Wheeler: 4000LP]
"Alright, I'll take the first turn! My Turn, draw a card!" Joey Wheeler eagerly seized the right to go first and drew a card from his Deck.
Northwood Reiko quickly bowed slightly: "Oh, oh, oh, please don't be polite, please give me your guidance."
Joey Wheeler scratched his cheek, feeling a bit awkward. Joey Wheeler had a lot of experience dealing with rude opponents, but this was the first time he had encountered such a polite opponent, and he was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
"Seriously, don't make the atmosphere so strange."
"S-sorry!"
"I told you not to... No, forget it. In short, I'll start my Turn." Joey Wheeler gave up on the idea of telling Northwood Reiko not to be so polite and wanting her to be a little more serious.
'Seriously, with an opponent like this, I feel like winning won't give me any achievement.'
Looking at the card he had just drawn, Joey Wheeler activated it directly: "I activate the Magic Card, **Cards of the Red Stone**! This card's effect is, I can discard a Level 7 "Red-Eyes" monster from my Hand, then draw two cards from my Deck. After that, I can send one Level 7 "Red-Eyes" monster from my Deck to the Graveyard."
After drawing two cards, Joey Wheeler sent a **Red-Eyes Black Dragon** he searched from his Deck to his Graveyard.
"Then, I activate the Ritual Spell Card, **Black Dragon Ritual**! From my Hand, I tribute **Red-Eyes Wyvern**, a Level 4 monster, as the tribute required for a Ritual Summon. The level requirement is 4! I Ritual Summon this monster from my Hand!"
Joey Wheeler rarely used a Ritual Spell Card. He sent a monster he had just drawn due to the effect of **Cards of the Red Stone** from his Hand to the Graveyard and placed the other drawn card on his Duel Field.
"Seize the radiance! The pitch-black sword mercilessly dominates the dark dragon!" Joey Wheeler excitedly swung his fist. "Ritual Summon! **Black Luster Ritual Soldier**!"
On Joey Wheeler's Field, the phantom of **Red-Eyes Wyvern**, which had just been tributed for the activation of the Ritual Spell Card, manifested. Under the use of **Black Dragon Ritual**, its form twisted, and replacing **Red-Eyes Wyvern** was a warrior standing on the back of a Black Dragon, holding a sword.
[**Black Luster Ritual Soldier**] [4☆/Dark]
[Dragon Type/Ritual/Effect]
[1900/1200]
**Black Luster Ritual Soldier's** 1900 ATK was second only to Pitch-Black Warwolf, which required tributing a monster to attack, among the lower-level monsters Joey Wheeler used. After all, a Ritual Monster required at least three cards to summon: the tribute, the Ritual Spell, and the Ritual Monster itself. While having decent stats, it also had a relatively good effect.
"The relationship between **Black Luster Ritual Soldier** and the Black Dragon is not Master and mount; he is the guide of the Black Dragon, capable of summoning the Black Dragon's appearance with his own power." Joey Wheeler said, and ordered, "**Black Luster Ritual Soldier** can tribute itself to Special Summon a **Red-Eyes Black Dragon** from my Deck or Hand!"
The knight riding the Black Dragon didn't get a chance to participate in battle. Upon receiving Joey Wheeler's order, it transformed into a vortex and dispersed. And from that pitch-black vortex, Joey Wheeler's most trusted ace monster—**Red-Eyes Black Dragon**—made its grand appearance!
[**Red-Eyes Black Dragon**] [ATK 2400]
"ROAR!!!"
"Uwah!" Accompanied by **Red-Eyes Black Dragon's** roar, Northwood Reiko, who was directly facing the Black Dragon, subconsciously wanted to cover her head and crouch down. But fortunately, she still remembered somewhat that she was in a Duel. Although she cried out in fear, she still maintained her standing posture, though her legs were trembling slightly.
Joey Wheeler naturally noticed this and looked at Northwood Reiko, quite speechless. He hadn't even activated an attack yet, so why was this person so scared?
"S-sorry, because Duel Monsters feels a bit scary, and Duelists too, so I unconsciously..." Northwood Reiko apologized again, sounding very weak.
"You really are... Sigh." Joey Wheeler was truly speechless. "**Red-Eyes Black Dragon** cannot attack the Turn it is summoned by **Black Luster Ritual Soldier's** effect, but since it's the first turn, it doesn't matter."
"Then I activate the Continuous Spell Card, **Dangerous Machine Type 6**."
As Joey Wheeler inserted a card into his Duel Disk, a mechanical sphere adorned with six glowing devices slowly rose from the ground next to his **Red-Eyes Black Dragon**.
"The effect of **Dangerous Machine Type 6** is to roll a die during each of my Standby Phase, and then force activation of its effect based on the points of the dice. However, since it's not time for activation yet, we can ignore it for now." Joey Wheeler said, glancing awkwardly in the direction of the Spectator Area.
Although he had told Tristan, Hayato, and the others more than once that he would rather lose Duel Monsters, starve to death, die outside, or jump from a height than use gambling cards.
In short, it smelled really good.
"After that, I set two cards. My Turn ends." Joey Wheeler drew two cards and inserted them into his Spell & Trap Zone, then snapped his fingers with his free hand, showing a proud smile. "Then, during my End Phase, **Red-Eyes Wyvern** in my Graveyard has an effect that can be activated."
"Huh? A monster effect activated from the Graveyard during the End Phase?" Northwood Reiko said with some surprise. "Can monster effects be activated automatically?"
"Don't tell me you thought monster effects only had the active activation type?"
Hearing Joey Wheeler's words, Northwood Reiko became very nervous and quickly said, "Y-yes, yes, yes, sorry! I don't have much experience with Duel Monsters and haven't fully understood the rules regarding monster effects."
"Huh?" Joey Wheeler was genuinely strange, because in Joey Wheeler's opinion, his knowledge of Duel Monsters was already quite lacking. If it weren't for Master Solomon's Hell Training, he might not even recognize many cards. However, even without undergoing training himself, he at least knew that there were differences in Duel Monster effects.
Effects that are Actively Activated, Passively Triggered, and Constantly Active—even Tristan and Téa, who didn't play Duel Monsters often, knew these things. How could this person named Northwood Reiko not even know this? How did she even get this far in the advancement?
Thinking of this, Joey Wheeler suddenly realized—oh right, this person wasn't just some ordinary person on the street. This was the KC Cup, and it was already the second round. Northwood Reiko was one of the top 32, the same level as himself. It was absolutely impossible for her to know nothing about Duel Monsters.
This person was definitely using the strategy of "pretending to know nothing about Duel Monsters to make others drop their guard"! People who play strategy have dirty hearts! What a malicious woman!
I completely understand!
Startled by Joey Wheeler's suddenly sharp gaze, Northwood Reiko stammered, "Ah, I-I've only been playing Duel Monsters for... just one month..."
"One month?" Hmph, Lord Joey Wheeler is very smart, don't think you can fool me. "Is that so? Well, that's amazing then, to reach the top 32 of the KC Cup in just one month."
"However, the effect of my **Red-Eyes Wyvern** in the Graveyard continues to activate." Joey Wheeler firmly believed in his deduction and declared, "Although I Special Summoned **Black Luster Ritual Soldier** and **Red-Eyes Black Dragon** consecutively, I haven't performed a Normal Summon."
"During the End Phase of a Turn where I haven't performed a Normal Summon, I can banish **Red-Eyes Wyvern** from my Graveyard, and target one "Red-Eyes" monster in my Graveyard to activate its effect! That monster is Special Summoned!"
"Come forth, the second **Red-Eyes Black Dragon**!"
3K yesterday, and 2K today.
Also, the movie that suddenly appeared in the Mokuroku was unexpectedly quite good. The most impressive thing was the Little Demon King's Supreme King form, who finally knew how to summon and learned when and how to use things, like Kabuto's acceleration to save the Hostage.
It's just that Bubble Rabbit spraining its foot was a bit awkward, it got infected by 01.
End of Chapter
It was another clear morning. Inside the bustling Kaiba Dome, Kujaku Mai watched the large screen on the Central Stage with a strange expression.
The screen displayed the Duelists scheduled for the first Duel of the KC Cup today. Yugi, Hayato, Tristan , and others were already seated, but Joey Wheeler, usually the most enthusiastic about the KC Cup, was absent. From this, it was clear that Joey Wheeler was up first again.
Beside her, Tristan had just finished a phone call with Shizuka, Joey Wheeler's sister, who was far across the ocean in Domino City. Seeing Kujaku Mai staring at the screen, he ranted, "Kaiba, he definitely rigged the KC Cup Duel schedule. Otherwise, why is Joey Wheeler always the first one up?"
The current time was exactly eight o'clock in the morning. However, the time difference between Japan and America was a full fourteen hours. It was around ten o'clock at night in Japan, and when Yugi and the others first arrived in America, it took them quite some time to adjust to the time difference.
Although thanks to KaibaCorp, Shizuka could watch the KC Cup broadcast on television without delay even from far away in Japan, ten o'clock at night was still quite late for Shizuka, who had never had the habit of staying up late. After all, before her eye surgery, Shizuka had always maintained good habits to protect her eyesight and try to slow down the weakening of her vision, although it didn't help much.
Furthermore, Shizuka hadn't taken time off school like Yugi and the others. Since she had to go to school the next day, although she really wanted to see her brother Joey Wheeler's victorious appearance on television, she could only regretfully rest early.
Fortunately, the television in Shizuka's home still had a recording function, allowing her to record the program being broadcast and watch it later. She had done just that the day before yesterday.
However, instead of waiting until the next evening after school to watch the recorded program to find out about her brother's battle situation, Shizuka had a faster way. That was through Tristan, who had accompanied Shizuka after her surgery during Battle City and conveniently got her mobile phone number.
Honda had been watching the KC Cup very seriously these past two days, not because he had such a great passion for Duel Monsters, but so he could remember the Duelists who appeared and the situation of their duels in his mind, allowing him to have more topics to talk about with Shizuka after she watched the replay.
Also, as a side benefit, Tristan would always estimate the time in Japan in advance and send a text message to Shizuka in Japan around five o'clock in the afternoon in America, so that Shizuka, who would just be waking up at seven o'clock, could know Joey Wheeler's battle situation immediately.
The cost of international calls and text messages?
Did Tristan lack that bit of money? Just a little bit of phone bill could give him a legitimate reason to contact Shizuka. In his opinion, it was a huge profit, okay?
Hearing Tristan's rant, Kujaku Mai also withdrew her line of sight from the screen. However, the reason she was staring at the screen wasn't actually because of "Joey Wheeler," Joey Wheeler's English name, displayed on the screen, but because she was looking at the name of Joey Wheeler's opponent displayed on the other half of the screen.
No.1919, Northwood Reiko. It looks like a Japanese name, and "Reiko"? It sounds like a female name.
A strange sense of crisis suddenly arose in Kujaku Mai's heart, and then she suddenly blushed.
Really, even if Joey Wheeler's opponent was a woman, or even if he found a girlfriend, it had nothing to do with her!
However, Kujaku Mai couldn't even convince herself of this idea. No one knew what her inner thoughts truly were.
But thinking of Joey Wheeler's thick-skinned personality, Kujaku Mai felt a little relieved.
It didn't matter if he met a female opponent. With Joey Wheeler's low EQ personality, who could he possibly attract? How could anyone like that kind of dense guy?
Having barely prepared his Deck, Joey Wheeler walked out of the Player Waiting Room with a proud expression, closing his eyes and enjoying the cheers from his fans, few but definitely present among the audience. He walked onto the Duel Platform, waiting for his opponent to appear.
Joey Wheeler was initially a bit annoyed with Kaiba about being scheduled as the first Duelist to appear again. He even imagined Kaiba's disdainful expression when rigging the KC Cup.
'If a third-rate Duelist like Joey Wheeler with a second-rate Deck appears in the middle of the KC Cup, the popularity that the KC Cup has finally built up will definitely be dragged down by that Commoner. Putting him at the end would also be a bad finish, so let him go first.'
Although he hadn't heard Kaiba say these words himself, Joey Wheeler firmly believed that Kaiba definitely thought this way.
However, later, Joey Wheeler, after all, had an unusually resilient spirit and a thick skin, and he easily convinced himself with another idea.
"Being the first to appear clearly means Yours Truly's strength is very strong, most suitable for the opening." Standing on his Field with his hands on his hips, Joey Wheeler showed a silly smile. "And even if other Duelists perform excellently afterward, how could they leave a deeper impression than Lord Joey Wheeler?"
It's really good to be the first to appear, really good, hehehehe~
As Joey Wheeler was laughing, he suddenly realized that at some point, a black-haired young girl wearing glasses was already standing opposite him, looking at him with fear and resistance.
"Ahem, well, you're my opponent, right!" Joey Wheeler coughed twice, trying to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere on the Duel Platform at the moment, and spoke first. "Um, your name is..."
While speaking, Joey Wheeler looked up at the screen next to the Duel Platform. Although he had seen the other person's name before the Duel, as everyone knows, Joey Wheeler's memory only lasts for 3 seconds. It only takes "1, 2, Bang!", and Joey Wheeler can completely forget certain memories and write in new ones, just like a Pokémon.
"Northwood Reiko? Northwood Reiko, huh?" Joey Wheeler first read the young girl's name displayed on the screen in somewhat unfamiliar English, then translated it back into Japanese and said it again.
Joey Wheeler felt his luck was quite good. Since the Qualifiers of the KC Cup until now, most of the opponents he had encountered surprisingly spoke Japanese. He even met an American who spoke Japanese better than English, similar to Pegasus, which meant Joey Wheeler didn't have to force himself to communicate in his heavily accented English.
Last round he met Rex, and this round, this young girl named "Northwood Reiko" also seems like she's Japanese. How lucky.
Looking at Joey Wheeler, Northwood Reiko nodded timidly, slightly opening her mouth as if to say something, hesitating two or three times but unable to speak. With great difficulty, she finally made up her mind and said softly, "U-um, h-hello, I am Northwood Reiko."
After saying that sentence haltingly, Northwood Reiko seemed to have finally mustered her courage and smoothly said, "In short, I will do my best in the Duel."
Although she said words that sounded like she was cheering herself on, no matter how Joey Wheeler looked, he couldn't see any fighting spirit in Northwood Reiko.
'Is this person really a Duelist?' Joey Wheeler sized up Northwood Reiko. She was wearing a white cashmere long-sleeved shirt, with a black sleeveless shirt over it, and below was a light gray pleated skirt that reached her knees, paired with white tube socks that weren't too long. She looked like a girl next door.
Joey Wheeler even felt that Northwood Reiko was simply a typical Japanese high school student, and the type who was a good girl with excellent grades.
'She has absolutely no drive as a Duelist, her fighting spirit is fundamentally 0.'
Joey Wheeler evaluated her in his inner thoughts.
Although Joey Wheeler's inner thoughts were quite pure, genuinely judging Northwood Reiko's personality without any thought of coveting her beauty, after all, Joey Wheeler was a steadfast person. If he said he liked blonde big waves, he liked blonde big waves, whether they were 18, 38, or 58.
However, unfortunately, his gaze as he sized up Northwood Reiko's attire was fully captured by Kujaku Mai in the Spectator Area through the footage on the large screen.
"Joey Wheeler, that pervert, instead of starting the Duel properly, what is he looking at?!" Kujaku Mai's fist was clenched particularly tightly, and behind her, flames seemed to ignite with a sound like "Blazing Fire Sword Draw".
Without making Kujaku Mai, who had gotten angry for no reason, wait too long, the Referee announced the start of the Duel at Kaiba's signal.
Hearing the Referee's words, Joey Wheeler inserted his Deck into his Duel Disk and said with high fighting spirit, "Just so you know, I'm very strong, don't get burned by my sword!"
"Duel!"
"Eeek!" Startled slightly by Joey Wheeler's loud voice, Northwood Reiko's hard-won courage flinched back. "I-I will also Duel seriously, Duel."
[Northwood Reiko: 4000LP]
[Joey Wheeler: 4000LP]
"Alright, I'll take the first turn! My Turn, draw a card!" Joey Wheeler eagerly seized the right to go first and drew a card from his Deck.
Northwood Reiko quickly bowed slightly: "Oh, oh, oh, please don't be polite, please give me your guidance."
Joey Wheeler scratched his cheek, feeling a bit awkward. Joey Wheeler had a lot of experience dealing with rude opponents, but this was the first time he had encountered such a polite opponent, and he was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
"Seriously, don't make the atmosphere so strange."
"S-sorry!"
"I told you not to... No, forget it. In short, I'll start my Turn." Joey Wheeler gave up on the idea of telling Northwood Reiko not to be so polite and wanting her to be a little more serious.
'Seriously, with an opponent like this, I feel like winning won't give me any achievement.'
Looking at the card he had just drawn, Joey Wheeler activated it directly: "I activate the Magic Card, **Cards of the Red Stone**! This card's effect is, I can discard a Level 7 "Red-Eyes" monster from my Hand, then draw two cards from my Deck. After that, I can send one Level 7 "Red-Eyes" monster from my Deck to the Graveyard."
After drawing two cards, Joey Wheeler sent a **Red-Eyes Black Dragon** he searched from his Deck to his Graveyard.
"Then, I activate the Ritual Spell Card, **Black Dragon Ritual**! From my Hand, I tribute **Red-Eyes Wyvern**, a Level 4 monster, as the tribute required for a Ritual Summon. The level requirement is 4! I Ritual Summon this monster from my Hand!"
Joey Wheeler rarely used a Ritual Spell Card. He sent a monster he had just drawn due to the effect of **Cards of the Red Stone** from his Hand to the Graveyard and placed the other drawn card on his Duel Field.
"Seize the radiance! The pitch-black sword mercilessly dominates the dark dragon!" Joey Wheeler excitedly swung his fist. "Ritual Summon! **Black Luster Ritual Soldier**!"
On Joey Wheeler's Field, the phantom of **Red-Eyes Wyvern**, which had just been tributed for the activation of the Ritual Spell Card, manifested. Under the use of **Black Dragon Ritual**, its form twisted, and replacing **Red-Eyes Wyvern** was a warrior standing on the back of a Black Dragon, holding a sword.
[**Black Luster Ritual Soldier**] [4☆/Dark]
[Dragon Type/Ritual/Effect]
[1900/1200]
**Black Luster Ritual Soldier's** 1900 ATK was second only to Pitch-Black Warwolf, which required tributing a monster to attack, among the lower-level monsters Joey Wheeler used. After all, a Ritual Monster required at least three cards to summon: the tribute, the Ritual Spell, and the Ritual Monster itself. While having decent stats, it also had a relatively good effect.
"The relationship between **Black Luster Ritual Soldier** and the Black Dragon is not Master and mount; he is the guide of the Black Dragon, capable of summoning the Black Dragon's appearance with his own power." Joey Wheeler said, and ordered, "**Black Luster Ritual Soldier** can tribute itself to Special Summon a **Red-Eyes Black Dragon** from my Deck or Hand!"
The knight riding the Black Dragon didn't get a chance to participate in battle. Upon receiving Joey Wheeler's order, it transformed into a vortex and dispersed. And from that pitch-black vortex, Joey Wheeler's most trusted ace monster—**Red-Eyes Black Dragon**—made its grand appearance!
[**Red-Eyes Black Dragon**] [ATK 2400]
"ROAR!!!"
"Uwah!" Accompanied by **Red-Eyes Black Dragon's** roar, Northwood Reiko, who was directly facing the Black Dragon, subconsciously wanted to cover her head and crouch down. But fortunately, she still remembered somewhat that she was in a Duel. Although she cried out in fear, she still maintained her standing posture, though her legs were trembling slightly.
Joey Wheeler naturally noticed this and looked at Northwood Reiko, quite speechless. He hadn't even activated an attack yet, so why was this person so scared?
"S-sorry, because Duel Monsters feels a bit scary, and Duelists too, so I unconsciously..." Northwood Reiko apologized again, sounding very weak.
"You really are... Sigh." Joey Wheeler was truly speechless. "**Red-Eyes Black Dragon** cannot attack the Turn it is summoned by **Black Luster Ritual Soldier's** effect, but since it's the first turn, it doesn't matter."
"Then I activate the Continuous Spell Card, **Dangerous Machine Type 6**."
As Joey Wheeler inserted a card into his Duel Disk, a mechanical sphere adorned with six glowing devices slowly rose from the ground next to his **Red-Eyes Black Dragon**.
"The effect of **Dangerous Machine Type 6** is to roll a die during each of my Standby Phase, and then force activation of its effect based on the points of the dice. However, since it's not time for activation yet, we can ignore it for now." Joey Wheeler said, glancing awkwardly in the direction of the Spectator Area.
Although he had told Tristan, Hayato, and the others more than once that he would rather lose Duel Monsters, starve to death, die outside, or jump from a height than use gambling cards.
In short, it smelled really good.
"After that, I set two cards. My Turn ends." Joey Wheeler drew two cards and inserted them into his Spell & Trap Zone, then snapped his fingers with his free hand, showing a proud smile. "Then, during my End Phase, **Red-Eyes Wyvern** in my Graveyard has an effect that can be activated."
"Huh? A monster effect activated from the Graveyard during the End Phase?" Northwood Reiko said with some surprise. "Can monster effects be activated automatically?"
"Don't tell me you thought monster effects only had the active activation type?"
Hearing Joey Wheeler's words, Northwood Reiko became very nervous and quickly said, "Y-yes, yes, yes, sorry! I don't have much experience with Duel Monsters and haven't fully understood the rules regarding monster effects."
"Huh?" Joey Wheeler was genuinely strange, because in Joey Wheeler's opinion, his knowledge of Duel Monsters was already quite lacking. If it weren't for Master Solomon's Hell Training, he might not even recognize many cards. However, even without undergoing training himself, he at least knew that there were differences in Duel Monster effects.
Effects that are Actively Activated, Passively Triggered, and Constantly Active—even Tristan and Téa, who didn't play Duel Monsters often, knew these things. How could this person named Northwood Reiko not even know this? How did she even get this far in the advancement?
Thinking of this, Joey Wheeler suddenly realized—oh right, this person wasn't just some ordinary person on the street. This was the KC Cup, and it was already the second round. Northwood Reiko was one of the top 32, the same level as himself. It was absolutely impossible for her to know nothing about Duel Monsters.
This person was definitely using the strategy of "pretending to know nothing about Duel Monsters to make others drop their guard"! People who play strategy have dirty hearts! What a malicious woman!
I completely understand!
Startled by Joey Wheeler's suddenly sharp gaze, Northwood Reiko stammered, "Ah, I-I've only been playing Duel Monsters for... just one month..."
"One month?" Hmph, Lord Joey Wheeler is very smart, don't think you can fool me. "Is that so? Well, that's amazing then, to reach the top 32 of the KC Cup in just one month."
"However, the effect of my **Red-Eyes Wyvern** in the Graveyard continues to activate." Joey Wheeler firmly believed in his deduction and declared, "Although I Special Summoned **Black Luster Ritual Soldier** and **Red-Eyes Black Dragon** consecutively, I haven't performed a Normal Summon."
"During the End Phase of a Turn where I haven't performed a Normal Summon, I can banish **Red-Eyes Wyvern** from my Graveyard, and target one "Red-Eyes" monster in my Graveyard to activate its effect! That monster is Special Summoned!"
"Come forth, the second **Red-Eyes Black Dragon**!"
3K yesterday, and 2K today.
Also, the movie that suddenly appeared in the Mokuroku was unexpectedly quite good. The most impressive thing was the Little Demon King's Supreme King form, who finally knew how to summon and learned when and how to use things, like Kabuto's acceleration to save the Hostage.
It's just that Bubble Rabbit spraining its foot was a bit awkward, it got infected by 01.
End of Chapter
