Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"I see. If you have a good hand, then let me use your best card!" With a smug smile, the Gravekeeper Elder set all four cards in his hand to the back row in one go, and then played the card he had drawn this turn. "After setting four cards face down, I activate the Spell Card [Hand Swap]!"

"Both players reveal their hands, and then each player chooses one card from the opponent's hand to add to their own!"

"What?!" The spectator almost had PTSD when he saw the [Hand Swap] card appear. He couldn't forget how Rafiel had forcibly stuffed an [Orichalcos Barrier] into his hand, which almost led to Aibo being taken away from him.

"First, he faces down all the cards except for one, then activates [Hand Swap]. Doesn't that mean Hayato can't choose which cards he gets, while his opponent can freely choose Hayato's hand?" Kyoko said angrily. "He deliberately said he drew the strongest card before, just to test the strength of the cards in Hayato's hand, right? So cunning!"

"Hmph, say whatever you want, the fact is my tactics worked." The tomb guardian elder didn't take Kyoko's accusations to heart at all, and looked at Hayato, saying, "Let me see your hand!"

"Damn it, they used such a powerful combo! This is terrible, my powerful monster is going to lose its power!"

Hayato, with a look of resentment on his face, slowly turned the card he was holding toward the gravedigger. The gravedigger, in turn, wanted to see Hayato's hand and enjoy the indignant expression on Hayato's face while staring at the card in Hayato's hand.

But when the cards were completely flipped over, Hayato's expression changed. "...You thought I would say that, you idiot? Come on, pick the cards you want to take, don't be shy."

Hayato's five cards were revealed to the Gravekeeper Elder.

[Neighbor's Lawn Mowing] [Foolish Burial] [Monster Gate] [Famous Mystery] [Half-Dragon Maid: Laundry Dragon Girl]

"???"

The tomb guardian was also taken aback. Wasn't it supposed to be a "perfect hand"? How come it was all magic cards? And the only monster card he had made gave the impression that he had been tricked.

At first glance, the effects of the four magic cards were all meaningless. The Gravekeeper couldn't understand why Hayato put so many cards that sent cards to the graveyard in his deck. Was he trying to get himself killed?

After a moment's thought, he decided that rather than getting a bunch of completely useless magic cards, he might as well take the only monster card he had, which he could at least summon and use as a wall on his field.

“I’ve chosen [Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl], so take this card.” As he spoke, the Gravekeeper threw the only card in his hand at Hayato and caught the [Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl] that Hayato threw at him.

Hayato took the card; the card the Gravekeeper handed him was a trap card, [Local Hurricane], whose effect was to shuffle all cards in his hand and graveyard back to the deck. On the surface, it was just a card with unclear meaning, completely inferior to [Pot of Greed] and [Bottle of Greed], which could selectively recycle cards and replenish his hand.

However, isn't this the perfect deck for Hayato to use this time?

"Hmph, I'll take your card. Now I'm going to summon this monster I got from you to my field in Defense Position." The Gravekeeper placed [Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl] face down on his field and watched the little blue girl in her maid outfit appear on his field. He said smugly, "How does it feel to see your monster betray you? It will be even more painful to destroy this monster with your own hands afterward."

"Hmm, let me see this monster's effect. 'If it is successfully Summoned or Special Summoned, it can be activated to send the top three cards of your Deck to the Graveyard'? Hmph, what a meaningless effect. I'm not going to use it."

"That concludes my turn."

[Elder: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl】【DEF1600】

[GaiK] X4

The Elder of the Graveyard has announced the end of the turn, but Little Blue, standing on his field, still can't understand why he's on a stranger's field while his master is standing opposite him.

"Gou... Gou Xiu Jin Sa Ma!?" For some reason, as Xiao Lan watched Hayato gradually raise his head, an ominous premonition rose in her heart.

Looking at Xiao Lan standing on the opposite side of the field, Hayato said with a serious expression, "Xiao Lan, I always thought only those traitors like [Disruption Yellow] would betray us, but I never expected that you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, would also become a traitor. In that case, I won't be polite!"

"My turn, draw!" After drawing a card from the top of his deck, Hayato played the card that had already been revealed in his hand. "Then, I activate the Spell Card 'Neighbor's Grass Cut,' and until both players have an equal number of cards in their decks, I send the top card of my deck to the graveyard!"

As the spell card was activated, a canine with brown fur appeared on Hayato's field. It had sharp metal teeth in its mouth and a pair of scythes on its chin, making it look perfect for mowing grass.

To maximize the effect of the "Neighborhood Grass Cutting" card, Hayato's deck still opted for a full 60-card build. With neither side expending much deck resources, Hayato can use this card to dump a full 20 cards into the graveyard at once!

However, seeing Hayato activate [Neighbor's Grass Cut], the Gravekeeper waved his hand and ordered one of his cards in the back row to activate: "Although I don't know what you want to do, it is common sense in dueling rituals to prevent the opponent from getting what they want. Chain that card and I will activate the trap card that was set last turn."

"Counter Trap Card [Straight Through]! When a monster's effect, Spell, or Trap Card is activated in the same column as this card, you can activate this Set card on my field; negate that activation and destroy it!"

Before Hayato's field-appearing grass-cutting beast could send the cards in Hayato's deck to the graveyard, a golden light suddenly shone from beneath it, then exploded violently, negating and destroying Hayato's "Neighbor Grass-Cutting" and sending it to the graveyard.

"Tsk, bad luck, put it in the wrong position." Hayato glanced at the four face-down cards of the Gravekeeper Elder in the back row and said somewhat unhappily. There were five slots to put cards, but he had accidentally placed it in the only wrong position. Was it just bad luck, or...?

"Since [Neighbor's Lawn Mowing] is invalidated, I'll use this card instead: the Spell Card [Name Deduction]."

Following [Grass-Mowing Beast], a guy with a pipe in his mouth and dressed like a detective appeared next to Hayato, with a screen above his head displaying scrolling numbers. "The opponent declares levels 1-12. Flip over the cards from the top of my deck until a monster that can be Normal Summoned appears."

"If the monster's Level is the same as its declared Level, all revealed cards are sent to the Graveyard; if not, that monster is Special Summoned to my field, and all remaining revealed cards are sent to the Graveyard."

After explaining, Hayato saw the Gravekeeper frown and then wave his hand again to reveal the cards in the back row: "Another card that sends cards to the graveyard? In that case, I'm even more certain that I can't let you send cards to the graveyard. Reveal the second face-down card, Counter Trap [Bribery of the Demon Palace]!"

The famous detective, who was waiting for the elder of the tomb to declare his level, turned his head and saw that someone had left a huge red envelope behind him at some point. There was a note on the envelope that read "bribe" on it. How blatant!

“When the opponent activates a Spell/Trap Card, [Bribery of the Demon Palace] can be activated.” The Gravekeeper pointed to the famous detective on Hayato’s field. “That activation is negated and destroyed, and as compensation, the opponent draws a card from their deck.”

"Trying to buy my thirst for the truth with money? That's an insult to me!" The detective picked up the red envelope and left a card for Hayato. "I was thinking of saying that, but he gave way too much."

With a "bang," the easily bribed detective vanished from Hayato's field in a puff of smoke, and Hayato helplessly drew a card from his deck.

Both attempts to build up the graveyard were thwarted by the Gravekeeper Elder's face-down cards, forcing Hayato to look again at the two face-down cards remaining in his back row with a rather strange expression.

One card is understandable, but two cards are definitely not a coincidence, especially considering that the opponent was able to use the disgusting psychological tactic of "bluffing out the quality of the opponent's hand and then stealing it with [Hand Swap]" in the previous turn. Don't the Gravekeepers have any sense of justice?

Compared to Lishid, whose deck is full of trap cards, Isis, who plays with summoned monsters, and this old man who has countered him twice in a row, Malik, who only likes to give others sex toys and has a powerful big baby, seems like a true sunny boy.

However, since his opponent is such a heretic, Hayato no longer needs to pretend to be a righteous gentleman.

"Activate the Field Spell Card [Rampage Magic Circle]. As part of the effect processing when this card is activated, add one [Summoner - Aleister] from my Deck to my hand." This time, in response to the activation of the Field Spell Card, the Gravekeeper on the opposite side did not open the face-down card in the back row during the chain, but watched as Hayato added a card to his hand. "Next, Normal Summon Aleister!"

"Then, if [Summoner - Aleister] summons, activate this effect: search my deck for one [Summoning Magic] and add it to my hand!"

Chapter 702 The Card Master's Ultimate Lesson

As the field magic card was activated, the environment beneath everyone's feet changed instantly, transforming into a crimson magical space. In the very center of the mysterious magic circle, the figure of a mage clad in a mage's robe appeared.

[Summoner - Aleister] [ATK 1000]

“Hey, showtime!” Aleister brandished his staff and said coolly, “Now it’s my turn to shine.”

Compared to the previous two attempts where the graveyard was countered, the normal summons of [Rampage Magic Circle] and [Summoner - Aleister] went much more smoothly, and the Gravekeeper Elder did not activate the face-down cards in the back row.

However, just when Hayato thought the opponent was out of options, the Gravekeeper Elder pulled out a Fireball, or rather, another trap.

Before [Summoner-Aleister] could retrieve its most powerful move, the Gravekeeper Elder waved his hand and commanded, "Then chain that monster's summoning, I activate my third face-down card, Continuous Trap [Imperial Decree]!"

"This card can only be used when the effect of a monster that requires a successful monster summon is activated. The activation of your Spellcaster monster's effect will be negated by [Imperial Decree]. However, as compensation, you can draw one card."

"This is my invincible, all-around retribution deck! Hahahaha!"

As Aleister raised his staff, a pair of handcuffs suddenly appeared on his hands. Completely bewildered, the handcuffs, which blocked magic, directly destroyed the magic circle of the summoning spell that had not yet been activated.

Watching Hayato draw the card as compensation, the game player outside the arena couldn't help but become serious: "It seems that the other party's ability to become an elder in the Graveyard Guardian Clan who presides over punishments is not just due to his age. He must have considerable strength and is not the unknown figure I initially thought. The situation is becoming a little difficult for Hayato."

"Huh? But it's a game. I remember Hayato and you used to really agree with that concept of 'card advantage,' right? Even though Hayato's effects were negated three times in a row, he still had five cards in his hand. Shouldn't that still be Hayato's advantage?" Kyoko said with a hint of doubt.

Because of the presence of these top duelists around her, Kyoko has also learned a lot of tips and tricks about dueling.

"The concept of 'card advantage' is true, but there is another concept, which is to consume resources like gasoline in an internal combustion engine and transform them into a real advantage, which is the 'starting point' of a deck."

Using simple and easy-to-understand examples, the author patiently explained to Kyoko beside him, "Just like I like to use [Magician - Rishin] to quickly summon [Dark Magician Girl], and then sequentially summon [Dark Magician] and arrange combo spells, the cards Hayato just used, whether it's [Neighbor's Grass Cutting], [Famous Deduction], or [Summoner - Aleister], are all cards that can be used as starting points to expand the deck."

"However, all three attempts were countered. In particular, the appearance of [Summoner - Aleister] consumed Hayato's normal summon for that turn. Without a starting point to utilize the cards in hand, having an infinite hand is meaningless."

"Ah sneeze!"

At this point in the game, Malik, who was also watching, suddenly sneezed.

He had reason to suspect that the game's last words were definitely a veiled reference to him. When Duel City was advancing from the quarterfinals to the semifinals, wasn't the dark personality Dark Marik, who had taken control of his body, a victim of the game's scheme, who emptied his deck and lost due to an unlimited hand of cards?

However, Malik, with his optimistic spirit, was quite open-minded. What did Malik's terrible gameplay at age six have to do with a sunny, big boy like me?

“That’s why I said the situation is a little difficult for Hayato.” Yugi paused, seeing the calm expression on Hayato’s face, and continued, “However, it’s only ‘a little.’ Hayato is a true duelist, and this level of difficulty doesn’t bother him.”

As the game suggests, after Hayato successfully deciphered all three of his movement points, he smiled and said, "Phew, what's this? I'm pretty good at spotting traps. After using a few cards as a price, I've successfully discovered the existence of three traps."

"It's a bit of a shame that Aleister's effect was negated. I was all set to sing." As he spoke, Hayato glanced at his [Summoner - Aleister] on the field, his fingers itching as if he was about to play a card.

Aleister, completely oblivious to Hayato's subtle actions, raised his handcuffed hands to show Hayato, saying, "I had no choice, Master. It's not that I didn't want to help. Looks like I'll just have to stand here and do nothing now."

Although he had been by Hayato's side for some time, Aleister still didn't realize what Hayato's dueling style was like.

The next moment, a space tunnel slowly opened beneath his feet.

"Huh? What's this?" Turning around with some confusion, Aleister saw a card appear behind him and subconsciously read out the card name and its effect: "[Monster Gate], you can activate this effect by Tributing 1 monster you control. Until a monster that can be Normal Summoned appears, reveal the top of your Deck. Special Summon that monster, and send all the remaining revealed cards to the Graveyard?"

"Wait, wait a minute, Master! You're not going to release me, are you!?"

"There's nothing I can do, Alai. I didn't want this either, but right now, the only use you have for me is your Liberation ability." Hayato inserted the card into the Duel Disk and said ruthlessly, "Alright, with no commercial value, you're now a collector's item!"

"Yamete~" After yelling cheekily, Aleister was swallowed by the space tunnel beneath his feet, and the cards above Hayato's deck were automatically flipped over.

If Hayato were using the "Inferno" deck this time, since all the "Inferno" monsters, except for "Decimal," cannot be Normal Summoned, Hayato could basically use the effect of "Monster Gate" to dump a large number of cards into the graveyard at once. However, unfortunately, this time Hayato is not using "Inferno," but rather—

"Tch, what bad luck. The first card I flipped over is a monster I can Normal Summon." Looking at the card flipped over at the top of his deck, Hayato pulled it out and placed it on his Duel Disk. "Then, thanks to the effect of [Monster Gate], I Special Summon [Shadowdow Falcon] to my field in Attack Position!"

As if it were the rumination of a living being, the space tunnel that had devoured Aleister spat out a new monster—a falcon with a slightly mechanized body structure, a dark purple body, and purple jade stones inlaid in various places and connected by silk threads.

However, although it appears to be a bird-beast race in form and structure, it is actually a machine race monster, but the monster that appeared on Hayato's field is a magic-type monster.

Shaddoll Falcon [2☆/Dark]

[Mage Race/Reverse/□□/Effect]

[600/1400]

Like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, Shaddoll Falcon was originally a Tuner monster, but due to the limitations of the era, the word "Tuner" was removed. However, Hayato plays a pure Shaddoll deck. Although he has the Summoner Aleister as a secondary system, it is still a pure Shaddoll deck. The pure Shaddoll deck focuses on Fusion Summoning and does not need Tuners, as their purity is too low.

"It's Shaddoll..." Upon seeing Shaddoll Falcon appear, Jonouchi felt a chill run down his spine, recalling the painful experience of constantly battling wits with Hayato's monster nicknamed "Little Rice" not long ago.

However, the Gravekeeper Elder, unaware of the power of Shaddoll, scoffed at the puppet falcon that appeared on Hayato's field: "Hmph, a piece of trash with an attack power of only 600 points, not even as good as that monster that looked like a scumbag from before. It seems that you, this rude scoundrel, are just all talk. What good is being able to fight? You have to know how to duel to survive, you little punk."

"Well, the attack and defense of [Shadowdow Falcon] are indeed not as good as Alai. A normal summon plus [Monster Gate] only got me a monster of this strength. It's really a loss." Hayato said, pulling a card from his hand. "But I'm the kind of person who thinks it's a loss if I don't pick it up when I go out. Losing a card is more painful than anything else. I'll use this card to make it back."

"The Spell Card [Upgrade Transformation] sends my [Shaddoll Falcon] to the Graveyard, and Special Summons a monster from my Deck that has the same Type and Attribute as [Shaddoll Falcon] and is 1 Level higher."

Shaddoll Falcon dissolved and sank into the shadow beneath Hayato's feet. After the shadow expanded to a certain size, a hedgehog with a similar color scheme to Shaddoll Falcon appeared.

Shaddoll Hedgehog】【3☆/Dark

[Mage Race/Reverse/Effect]

[800/200]

Moreover, when the Shaddoll Hedgehog appeared, the shadow beneath its feet not only did not disappear, but instead moved to the side, and the figure of the Shaddoll Falcon flashed past in the shadow.

“If a monster is sent to the Graveyard by an effect, the effect of [Shaddoll Falcon] is activated, and it is summoned face-down Defense Position from the Graveyard to my field,” Hayato explained. “When a monster is summoned from the Deck, no monsters on the field are lost, so this is basically called a freebie.”

Although Hayato's number of monsters on the field increased from one to two, the Gravekeeper Elder still maintained an indifferent expression.

"Tch, what's the difference between these two fancy monsters? They're just weak monsters with less than 1500 attack power, unable to even break through the defense of this clumsy-looking monster you left on my field."

The Elder's contemptuous tone offended all three monsters on the field. Shaddoll Falcon and Shaddoll Hedgehog, lacking self-awareness, didn't react, but Little Blue, standing on his field, couldn't help but protest: "Little Blue is very useful, okay? The one who calls others stupid is the stupid one!"

"When I get serious, I would never do something like piling powerful cards into the graveyard... uh, maybe?" But as she spoke, Xiao Lan became a little insecure and forced herself to explain, "Idiots don't catch colds, you know. Last time I broke the washing machine while doing laundry and got soaked, I almost caught a cold, so I'm definitely not an idiot! Yeah, that's it!"