Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Chapter 146 Beyond Perfection

"Has Hayato thought of a way to break the deadlock?" Jonouchi asked with some surprise. "With summoning new monsters causing backlash and the only monster on the field being the non-combatant 'Disruptor King,' how is Hayato going to win the duel?"

"Could it be that we need to use equipment cards to increase the attack power of [Disruptor King]?"

Honda considered a possibility, but Bakura shook his head and rejected it, "It's too difficult. Although the effect of [Heavenly Treasure Card] replenished a lot of cards in my hand, it's too difficult to strengthen [Disruptor King], which has an attack power of 0, to the point of surpassing [Cyber ​​Ogre]."

"No, it's not impossible." Mai Kongchuu suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "Although it's the evolved form, don't forget that Hayato's [Disruptor King] is still a [Disruptor] monster."

Mai Kujaku realized this, and Samejima, facing Hayato, did the same: 'Could it be that Hayato, through that [Heavenly Treasure Card], drew the powerful arena exclusive to the [Disruption] clan—[Disruption Village]?'

'If the roles were reversed, [Disruptor King] would instantly transform into a super-powerful monster with attack power on par with [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], while my [Cyber ​​Ogre]'s attack power would drop to only 1200 points,' Samejima frowned, calmly considering the situation. 'However, even if the attack succeeds, it will only deal me 1800 points of damage, which should be enough to hold out.'

But to everyone's surprise, as Hayato played the card in his hand, not only did the field not change at all, but his huge [Disruptor King] on the field began to disappear?

"I originally prepared this card for cards like [Magic Cylinder], but I didn't expect it to come in handy now." Hayato looked at Samejima's Monster Field, which was now freed after [Disruptor King] disappeared. "Because it is a Level 6, this monster requires a Tribute to be Tribute Summoned."

"Inherit the power of the [Disruptor King], bring me life and hope, come forth! [Material Dragon]!"

[Disruption King] transformed into countless points of light and fell to the ground. A strong life force burst forth from the ground, accompanied by a long cry. A flying dragon with six wings on its back and a body made of wood-like structure broke through the earth and floated in the sky above Hayato's arena.

[Material Dragon] [6☆/Light]

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[2400/2000]

"They actually chose to summon a new monster, and one with an attack power of 2400 points?!" Upon seeing the new monster appear, Jonouchi frowned. "Hayato, have you forgotten about [Dark Healing]? After summoning [Material Dragon], he will suffer a full 1200 points of damage."

A jet-black ball of light emerged from Hayato's field and crashed into the confident Hayato. But after the ball of light touched him, instead of decreasing his base score, it actually increased!

[Hayato: 2100LP →3300LP]

Seeing Samejima's puzzled expression, Hayato explained, "The [Material Dragon] symbolizes the most primordial matter left over from the creation of the world, and is a symbol of life force. As long as the [Material Dragon] exists on the field, the damage dealt will be converted into the effect of restoring life points."

"In other words, the existence of the [Material Dragon] is the opposite of the [Drug-Induced Side Effects] that are linked to [Dark Healing]."

"One card converts life force into damage, and the other card converts damage into life force?" Samejima murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Then, shall we try attacking, Hayato-kun?"

“Of course!” Hayato played a card. “Equip Spell Card, [Gigantify]! If my Life Points are lower than my opponent's, the equipped monster's ATK becomes twice its original ATK!”

[Material Dragon] [ATK2400→4800]

“Then I’ll activate my face-down card, [Cyber ​​Shadow Guardian]!” Samejima activated the card that had returned to the back row last turn. “I’ll summon it back to my field, and then, thanks to the effect of [Cyber ​​Summoner], I’ll deal you 300 damage!”

A burst of lightning shot out and struck Hayato precisely.

【Hayato: 3300LP →3000】

"Just a minor, insignificant injury. I'm entering battle phase!" Hayato watched as the [Material Dragon] on the field swelled in size. "[Material Dragon] attacks [Cyber ​​Ogre], Primal Reversion!"

Although it can bring life and hope, the [Material Dragon] claims to be quite formidable in combat as well. With a flap of its massive wings, six beams of emerald green energy from different directions locked onto the [Electronic Ogre], instantly engulfing it.

"Great! That defeats the [Cyber ​​Ogre]!" Jonouchi exclaimed excitedly. "And with a whopping 4800 attack power, Samejima-san will take 2900 damage in one hit. This gives Hayato the advantage!"

However, both the Peacock Dancer and the Game noticed something amiss on the field. They exchanged a glance but did not explain the situation to Jonouchi, as the situation on the field was still unclear.

Looking at the smoke enveloping the [Cyber ​​Ogre] and Samejima's life points remaining completely unchanged, Hayato knew the "no harm from smoke" rule and held a card in his hand.

"That was a formidable attack! I was just a hair's breadth away from losing most of my life points in one fell swoop." As the smoke dissipated, accompanied by Samejima's explanation, the [Electronic Ogre] stood unharmed, a mechanical head dangling from its mouth. Judging by its appearance, it was clearly another [Electronic Ogre]!

Sharashima held up a card from his hand to show it, then sent it to the graveyard. He explained, "You can activate this effect by sending one 'Cyber ​​Ogre' from your hand to the graveyard, which negates one battle fought by a 'Cyber ​​Ogre' on the field."

"Furthermore, the [Electronic Ogre] can absorb the power of its companions until the end of its next battle, increasing its attack power by 2000 points."

After swallowing the remains of its abandoned brethren from Same Island whole, the [Electronic Ogre] moved its metal joints, and the red light in its pair of electronic eyes visibly brightened.

[Electronic Cannibal] [ATK1900→3900]

"Is it because of the new power brought by the [Heavenly Treasure Card]? It seems that I'm not the only one who benefited from that card." Hayato drew the card from his hand, but instead of playing it immediately, he gently placed it on the field and looked at Samejima opposite him.

"Use the Machine-type cards that can be Special Summoned in large numbers to actively reduce the opponent's Life Points. Counter aggressive decks with the combo of [Dark Healing] and [Drug-Induced Side Effects]. Then use [Cyber ​​Ogre] to bait out openings in the attack and launch a counterattack."

"As expected of the future mentor of the Electro-Style School, he has his own top-level understanding of dueling. This dueling style is probably already close to perfection."

"But Mr. Samejima, perfection means the limit!"

Chapter 147 I Want to See the Limits of Power

"Perfection means the limit?" Samejima repeated Hayato's words.

Although he has always treated others with a very humble attitude, it would be a lie to say that he is not satisfied with the deck he uses.

Time and again, he used the "Cyber ​​Flow" deck he had learned to easily defeat his fellow disciples in the dojo. Even his senior uncles and aunts, who were a generation above him and could already use the symbol of "Cyber ​​Flow"—[Cyber ​​Dragon]—rarely had any match for him.

With a 100% win rate and an absolutely flawless fighting style, Samejima won every time. Although he didn't say it out loud, he was indeed as confident as Hayato said, feeling that his deck was perfect.

However, perfection is the limit... This wasn't the first time Samejima had heard this saying, because his master, the instructor of the contemporary "Electronic Flow" dojo, had also said the same thing.

After defeating his own deck using the ultimate technique of "Cyber ​​Flow"—the "Cyber ​​End Dragon" with an attack power of 8000—Samejima remembered that his teacher had said the exact same thing as Hayato, and that it had guided him to participate in this Duel Kingdom tournament.

“If it’s just once, you probably won’t be able to see the limits of your perfection. Go to that island and take a look,” his teacher said. “Under the guidance of the Draco constellation, I hope you can surpass your perfection when you return.”

"Samejima, let me show you my ultimate, my Overload!" Hayato activated the card, slamming his hand heavily on the dueling platform: "Activate Spell Card, [Double Chance]!"

A slot machine appeared on Hayato's field, its three reels spinning rapidly, so fast that the patterns on them were almost invisible.

"This card can only be activated when a monster's attack is negated. That monster whose attack was negated has only one chance to attack again, and its attack power is doubled only for that one attack!"

"【Material Dragon】, attack again! Launch another attack on the 【Electronic Ogre】!"

As Hayato finished speaking, the lever on the slot machine was pulled down, and three identical "7"s gradually appeared on the roulette wheel—the jackpot! A large number of coins gushed out from the slot machine's coin dispenser, and as soon as they appeared, they transformed into invisible energy and flowed into the body of the [Material Dragon]!

"Oh oh oh oh—!!!"

The Material Dragon absorbed a large amount of energy, and its already enormous size increased even further. With a roar, it launched another attack on the Cyber ​​Ogre on Samejima!

[Material Dragon] [ATK4800→9600]

"Attack power, 9600?!"

This surprised not only Samejima, who was facing the [Material Dragon], and the Yugi group who were watching the duel, but also Lemuria, who hadn't been paying much attention to the match and was sitting in the last row, and Pegasus, who was observing the situation through a screen.

"Is this Hayato-boy's limit? Unbelievable! Incredibly powerful." Pegasus barely noticed the fairy tale book falling from his hand as he stood up, staring intently at the dazzling [Material Dragon] on the screen. "The limit of perfection? This is so interesting. I'm getting more and more curious about who will surpass me, you or Game Boy, Hayato-boy~"

"Ultimate power that can easily crush any resistance, is this your strength? Indeed, I've learned something new, Hayato-kun." Samejima exclaimed as he watched the [Material Dragon] soaring through the sky, scattering brilliant light. However, he did not give up his resistance despite seeing the terrifying 9600 points of attack power; instead, his fighting spirit intensified.

"The instant [Material Dragon] launches its attack, I activate my face-down card, [Explosive Armor]!" Samejima flipped up his face-down card, revealing the "invincible" [Explosive Armor]. "It's beautiful, but Hayato! Your strength is not enough to surpass my perfection!"

"When attacking my monster, [Material Dragon] will be directly destroyed due to the effect of [Explosive Armor]!"

A streak of light shot out from the rear of Shark Island, heading straight for the swooping [Material Dragon], and a crack appeared on the [Material Dragon]. As the [Material Dragon] charged towards the [Electronic Ogre], the crack spread and enlarged the closer it got.

"Don't underestimate me, Samejima!" Hayato returned the smile. "Since you have this hope, then watch closely as I unleash my full power, and even surpass it!"

"The moment the effect of [Explosive Armor] activates, the protective power of [Material Dragon] joins the chain!" Hayato, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard, watched the imminent clash between [Cyber ​​Ogre] and [Material Dragon], a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Everything has flaws; perfection does not exist. The pursuit of perfection is merely a formality. However, if the goal is only perfection, then perfection will never be achieved!

"To become powerful, you must start by surpassing others!"

"The second effect of [Material Dragon] is that when a card with the effect of [Destroying Monsters on the Field] is activated, discard one card from your hand, negate that effect, and destroy it!" Hayato gripped the armrest of the dueling ring tightly. "My heart is trembling, my blood is boiling, my soul is burning fiercely,"

"My glory, my Tamashii! Deliver the final blow, [Material Dragon]!"

"Cute stars fly and collide!"

The [Explosive Armor] on the [Material Dragon] shattered, as if a shed shell had been removed, and splintered behind the rapidly diving [Material Dragon]. Bathed in stardust and draped in radiance, the [Material Dragon] with 9600 attack power and the [Electronic Ogre] with 3900 attack power finally collided!

"boom!"

The impact simulation system installed on the dueling arena was designed with the 4500 attack power of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in mind, and even raised the upper limit of the virtual projection to 9000 points.

However, the person who designed the duel arena never expected that in the duel between Samejima and Hayato, not only did Samejima's [Electronic Ogre] reach an attack power of 3900 points, but Hayato's [Material Dragon] also exceeded the upper limit of 9600 points.

The dueling arena beneath their feet trembled violently, and the virtual projection within the arena stuttered intermittently, as if a television signal were being interfered with by electromagnetic interference, with even sparks flying. The aftershocks of the [Material Dragon]'s attack continued for quite some time before finally stopping, the smoke and dust dissipating to reveal Samejima's scoreboard, now reduced to zero.

Samejima: 4000LP → 0

"You won, Hayato-kun." Samejima smiled as Hayato removed his hat and bowed in thanks. "It was quite an interesting duel."

"Yes, this is really interesting," Hayato replied with a smile.

The old butler appeared at the right moment and began to announce the outcome of the duel, but Hayato's attention was not on that; instead, he was drawn to the duel summary that suddenly popped up from the system.

Chapter 148 Temptations of the Underworld

Total score for this duel: 600 dp

[Achievement completed, reward to be claimed]

You have received a card drop; please check your account promptly.

Compared to the first piece of news that appeared after every duel, Hayato was most concerned about the third piece of news.

As compensation for the DP system revamp, Hayato can use this [Card Drop] system to directly obtain the cards corresponding to the duelists he has dueled.

And who did Hayato just defeat? Samejima Iemitsu! The future Duel Academy, Kaiser Ryo's teacher, and the instructor of the Cyber-style. How could he not drop a Sebastián card after that?

Then, Hayato looked at the trap card that had appeared in his hand and fell into deep thought—does Electro Flow still have a future?

The card he received was "Temptation of the Dead," also known as "Temptation of the Father of Ultra," or simply "Temptation of the Underworld." With such a nickname, you can easily guess that the card's effect is anything but cheerful.

Its effect is that each time a card is sent to the graveyard, the card's owner takes 300 damage for each card. While it doesn't disrupt the flow of the deck, this card is quite devastating for decks that heavily utilize the graveyard.

In Hayato's previous life, he once had the painful experience of using a "Neighbor's Grass Cut" card to discard more than ten cards from his deck into the graveyard, and then his opponent activated a chain to use "Temptation of the Underworld," causing him to "self-harm" more than 4,000 life points in one go.

If this card appeared on the "Gravekeepers"—the sunny boy Malik, the passionate Isis, and the frivolous and humorous Rishid—Hayato would find it quite reasonable. However, the problem is that Hayato obtained this card from Samejima, the "Cyber ​​Stream" duelist.

As expected of you, Samejima. Even the system has categorized you as a hellish duelist, and you still claim to be playing the electronic style?

The electronic deck was crammed full of terrible cards, but luckily my pure machine deck was a step ahead.

As Hayato stepped down from the stage, he watched a large group of members from the International Illusion Society walk past him, continuing on his way. Apparently, due to the recent duel, Pegasus's dueling ring had finally reached the end of its lifespan and needed to be replaced. Therefore, Hayato's duel with Yugi had to be postponed.

However, Hayato was happy with this arrangement. He still had cards like "System Crash" in his deck. Although he hadn't drawn it in his duel with Samejima, Hayato had no doubt that if he used it in his duel with Yugi, those counter cards would appear in his hand at a crucial moment to block his opponent's hand.

Another point is that Hayato has just finished his duel with Samejima, and his stamina is somewhat depleted. It would be good for him to have some time to recover and rest. Don't be fooled by the fact that Duel Monsters is just about playing cards. In reality, every time you take damage, summon a monster, or even draw a card, you consume some amount of stamina, and this consumption cannot be recovered by restoring your life points.

Before the virtual projection system was available, it wasn't so bad. Hayato had sparred with Yugi and Jonouchi before, and didn't feel much of a difference. However, after using Kaiba's virtual projection system, the feeling intensified considerably. Hayato suspected that Kaiba's virtual projection system definitely used something strange, perhaps even related to the card spirits in Duel Monsters.

Hayato walked out of the dressing room and went to the stands. Samejima was a step ahead of Hayato and had already arrived there, looking embarrassed as she received comfort from Jonouchi and the others.

"Uncle Samejima, you actually fought very well too. If it were me, with my summoning monsters blocked, I would have been helpless." Jonouchi put his arm around Samejima's shoulder and stood next to him. Although he was a high school student, Jonouchi was actually quite well-built, and was actually five or six centimeters taller than Samejima.