Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

As [Silent Swordsman Zero] attacked, [Guardian Slime] began to change shape, transforming into a mirror image of [Silent Swordsman Zero]. If it weren't for its original blue-purple color, even the game player would have difficulty distinguishing between them. Furthermore, [Guardian Slime]'s defense stat rapidly increased, reaching exactly 1500 points, the same as [Silent Swordsman Zero]'s!

"Clang!" "Bang!"

The golden greatsword in the hand of the Guardian Slime, which was mimicking the Silent Swordsman Zero, clashed with the sword in the hand of the Silent Swordsman Zero, and they quickly began to fight, but they could not determine a winner for a long time.

This is to be expected, since in the rules of Duel Monsters, if the defense of the target is equal to the attack power of the attacking monster, neither of them will be destroyed and no one will be harmed.

"It increases the opponent's monster's ATK by a certain amount, and the effect applies during damage calculation. Doesn't that mean that even if you use other card effects to strengthen the attacking monster at this moment, the DEF of 'Guardian Slime' will also increase simultaneously?" Yugi raised an eyebrow and said, "As always, you like to use cards that sound like cheats, Hayato."

"But there must be a price or limitations, right?"

Hayato shrugged: "You're quite perceptive, Yugi. While the Guardian Slime's defense-boosting effect itself doesn't come at a cost, there is a limitation: all three of its effects can only be used once per turn."

"In other words, while there is no upper limit to the effect of increasing defense, it can only be used once per turn."

Yugi nodded: "I see. In other words, if we attack again, the Guardian Slime won't be able to increase its defense anymore, right?"

After glancing at [Silent Magician Zero] on his own field, the game then looked at [Silent Swordsman Zero] in the front row, who was still locked in a fierce sword-fighting battle with [Guardian Slime], and said, "Then let's switch positions. [Silent Swordsman Zero], it's [Silent Magician Zero]'s turn next!"

The Guardian Slime, who was happily forging iron, suddenly found that the object it was imitating had stopped playing with it. After retreating and creating some distance, it saw the Silent Magician Zero aiming at it with his staff.

"My lord, times have changed."

As the not-so-silent [Silent Swordsman Zero] finished speaking, the magic bullet released by [Silent Magician Zero] instantly smashed the head of the [Guardian Slime] that was impersonating [Silent Swordsman Zero], causing the former to feel a phantom pain.

However, because it was in a defense position, even though the Guardian Slime was destroyed, Hayato did not suffer any combat damage and still had 1300 points remaining in his base score.

Looking at Hayato, whose field was now empty again, Yugi said with some regret, "Although I defeated the Guardian Slime, it seems I've already done my best and can't defeat you this turn, Hayato."

"Hmph, isn't that obvious? I'm Hayato Kobayashi." Pointing to himself with his thumb, Hayato said, "Even if you ask me questions like 'Will you win?', the only answer I can give is 'Yes, we will win.' It's just that obvious."

"You're just using newly acquired cards in the game, and even with the help of your familiar Pokémon, how can it compare to the tacit understanding and bond that I and my Tamashi have cultivated over time!"

Even though the cards he used were obtained from gold coins dropped by his old man Deng, cards obtained from his otaku brother-in-law, or cards stolen from Ramses II, Hayato spoke with an air of entitlement, "The [Guardian Slime] has a bond with me that three-year-old Malik, and its sacrifice will bring me victory!"

"When a card is sent from my hand or field to the Graveyard, the third effect of [Guardian Slime] is activated. I add one Spell/Trap Card with the name of [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra] from my Deck to my hand. I chose this card, [Ancient Spell].

"It's Tamashi again. By now, I've probably lost count of how many Tamashi you have..." Yugi said, looking at Hayato. "But, the spell card related to [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra], [Ancient Spell]? I've never seen you use it before, Hayato."

"Well then, I'll end my turn for now." With no cards left to use, Yugi lowered his arms, declaring the end of his turn.

[Game: 1000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Destroyer Dragon - Gandora G】【ATK2700】

[The Silent Magician - Zero] [ATK4000]

[Silent Swordsman Zero] [ATK1500]

[Golden Vault of Light] [Otherworldly Isolation Machine]

Judging from the lineup at the end of the game round, it's clear that neither he nor Hayato used their full strength in this duel. Although they went all out with the cards they had, it's hard to say they were completely serious—after all, look, there wasn't a single face-down card in the back row.

However, although his base score is almost gone, it's not an easy task for Hayato to defeat him, mainly because the monsters on his field are not as weak as they seem.

"My turn, draw a card."

The moment Hayato drew a card, increasing his hand to three, Yugi announced, "At this moment, the effects of my [Silent Magician Zero] and [Silent Swordsman Zero] activate."

"The effect of [Silent Magician Zero] is activated when the opponent draws a card, increasing its level by the number of cards drawn; and the effect of [Silent Swordsman Zero] is activated during both players' Standby Phases, increasing its level by 1 star."

The two [Silent] monsters on the field have shown significant growth once again. The level of [Silent Magician Zero] has reached 11☆ and is becoming more and more mature. Its attack power is also comparable to the "Legendary [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]". Meanwhile, [Silent Swordsman Zero] has gradually grown from a young boy into a normal teenager.

[Silent Magician Zero] [10☆/Light→11☆/Light] [ATK4000→4500]

[Silent Swordsman Zero] [5☆/Light→6☆/Light] [ATK1500→2000]

Not only has the attack power increased, but as Hayato's turn begins, the target counter of [Silent Swordsman Zero] is refreshed and can be used again. At the same time, Hayato has not forgotten the existence of [Silent Magician Zero]. The original [Silent Magician] had the effect of countering magic cards. Although the current [Silent Magician Zero] has not yet shown this effect, Hayato thinks that there shouldn't be any cards that become weaker the more they are strengthened.

"The attack power has increased, but it's meaningless, because any resistance is too weak in the face of the god who is about to descend, weak, weak, weak!" Hayato played a card from his hand and said, "Spell Card [Ancient Spell] activated! The effect of this card is that I select one [Winged Dragon of Ra] from my Deck or Graveyard and add it to my hand, and this turn I can perform a Tribute Summon only once, during the Main Phase, in addition to the Normal Summon!"

Hearing Hayato's words, Yugi nodded: "I see. So that's the effect of the Ancient Incantation. As long as you gather three offerings on the field, you can immediately summon a god? You still like the 'Pull' skill so much, Hayato."

"But I won't let you have your way!"

With a wave of his hand, Yugi said, "The third effect of [Silent Magician Zero], although you may have guessed it by now, I'll explain it again anyway. It can only be activated when [Golden Coffin of Light] is on my field and the opponent activates the effect of a Spell Card!"

"Negate that activation and raise the level of [Silent Magician Zero] by 1 star!"

As expected, [Silent Magician Zero] has the same magic counter as the original. The card of [Ancient Spell] activated by Hayato had just appeared on his back row when it was immediately suppressed by [Silent Magician Zero] chanting a spell and sent back to the graveyard. At the same time as the negation was activated, the level of [Silent Magician Zero] increased once again.

[Silent Magician Zero] [11☆/Light→12☆/Light] [ATK4500→5000]

Now, [Silent Magician Zero] has not only reached the highest level of regular cards, 12☆, but its attack power has also increased to a full 5000 points, comparable to [Five Divine Dragons].

However, upon seeing this, Hayato casually remarked, "Is it similar to the effect of [Silent Swordsman Zero]? That means it also has a one-time-use limitation, right? That scared me to death. I thought it was like [Silent Magician LV8], where the effect would remain nullified as long as the user was present."

"Looks like I'm still the one who wins in the end." Hayato said, playing a card from his hand. "My real trump card is actually this card: Continuous Spell Card [True Sun God] activated!"

"As part of the effect processing when this card is activated, I can add one [Ra's Winged Dragon] other than [True Sun God] or a card with the [Ra's Winged Dragon] card name to my hand. I choose [Ra's Winged Dragon - Sphere]!"

"Next, when [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere] is Normal Summoned, you can Tribute three monsters on your opponent's field to Summon it!"

Retrieving a card from his deck, Hayato shook the [Ragnaros the Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere] card, commonly known as the "Egg," and said, "I have an Egg in my hand, and you have three monsters on your field, Yugi. Good heavens, what a coincidence!"

"Then I will release [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora G], [Silent Magician Zero], and [Silent Swordsman Zero] from your field and bestow this powerful monster upon you!"

"Go, [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra - Spherical Shape]!"

As Hayato raised the card in his hand, preparing to unleash the sun-like monster in the night, Yugi couldn't help but exclaim, "Hayato, you're going to use [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere]? Right now, right here?"

"If I remember that card, although it will return control to you at the end phase of the next turn after the summon, how are you going to win this turn?"

The card in his hand shone brighter and brighter, and Hayato revealed the last card in his hand, saying: "Spell Card [Owner's Mark], although I like to give powerful monsters to others, I also like to bring powerful monsters back into my hand. This card can return control of all monsters on the field to their original owners."

"Then I can use the effect of [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere] to liberate myself and Special Summon [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra] directly from my Deck!"

Having finished explaining his plan, Hayato was about to see [Ra's Winged Ra - Sphere] appear on the field, and he was about to have a blast with [Ra's Winged Ra] when he suddenly heard Yugi say, "Then, I concede."

"what?"

Chapter 1221 Unforgivable, Pegasus

"Cough... Ugh... Ahhhhh—"

"You bastard, are you... so unwilling to lose this duel?! You're willing to resort to such underhanded tactics, don't you want to let the other person have a good time?! You even want to trample on my only wish!"

"Yugi Muto! Aren't you ashamed at all?!"

"I will not forgive you! I will absolutely not forgive you! You are so consumed by the desire to win that you have trampled on the honor of duelists. I will stain your dreams with my blood!"

I curse the world! I curse your future to be filled with calamity!

"When you fall into purgatory, you will surely remember my wrath, Hayato Kobayashi!"

Standing next to Hayato, watching his old friend's daily antics, Yugi couldn't help but make a "sweating soybean" face.

"I just surrendered in one match, Hayato, why are you making such a fuss..." Yugi said helplessly, shrugging. "When we used to spar, didn't you often use [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Form] for the final 'kill'?"

"You've used [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Form] more than once in real, serious duels, so why miss this one, which was just a casual, entertainment duel?"

Recovering from his "Kobayashi Diarmuid Hayato" state, Hayato held up a finger and shook it at Yugi: "The purity is too low, Yugi. That's why you always waver between Kyoko and Rebecca."

"I don't think there's any connection between these two things," Yugi retorted, adding, "Besides, Hayato, have you forgotten that if you summon Ra, the commotion will be enormous? Especially since it's nighttime, not daytime. Summoning Ra here is like setting off fireworks to attract attention, isn't it?"

"That's true." Hayato nodded, not dwelling on it for long.

Ultimately, the game just means surrendering during the duel and not giving him a chance to have fun. At least the duel is still completed. Take Kaiba's past misdeeds, like running away when he was about to lose in Duel Kingdom and Noa Kaiba hacking into the airship and interrupting Hayato's perfect starting hand in the Duel City semifinals. Hayato can talk about these two bastard deeds of Kaiba for the rest of his life.

The moment Hayato admitted defeat in the game, the system that hadn't been around for a while, making a brief appearance, declared him the winner and awarded him his loot.

DP points are naturally a given. Although Hayato has accumulated a considerable amount of DP points over the years, even after purchasing various cards he wants, he still has a surplus of up to eight figures. But who would complain about having too many of these? Naturally, the more the better.

Besides that, although he didn't unlock the achievement that is still largely locked even today and probably won't be unlocked in Hayato's lifetime, the duel with the game still earned Hayato a dropped card.

It should be added that although Hayato's system has a wide range of card drop options, such as the duel with Samejima who plays the Necromancer deck which unlocked the [Temptation of the Necromancer], and the duel with Kaiba which can drop his beloved [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] as well as the [Five Divine Dragons] which he would never use.

However, the range of cards dropped by the system does not remain unchanged after selection. For example, before Atum regained his true name, his drop list mostly overlapped with the cards in the game, but after regaining his true name, it became mainly composed of cards from the [Dark Magician] series, and also included cards from the [Guardian Priest].

In the past, the variety of cards dropped in the game was so vast it could only be described as tragic. It aimed for an all-encompassing approach, but a large portion of the drops were taken up by trap cards like [Mirror Activation]. However, after switching to the current [Golden Coffer of Light] deck, older cards like [Marshmallow] have been replaced by new cards like [Incremental Marshmallow].

Even more surprisingly, several cards that were still "in development" and unfinished by the game developers themselves dropped.

Hayato casually retrieved two rare cards from the system's drop list and handed them to Yugi without saying a word. Yugi, though somewhat puzzled, took the cards, glanced at them, and then exclaimed in surprise, "What's this card?!"

“Since this card series is based on your final ‘duel ritual’ with Atem, it’s not enough for only you to be in despair, Yugi. Even if you don’t put Atem on the cards, at least let Mahad make an appearance.”

One of the two cards Hayato took out this time was "Dark Magician - Dark Magician", which was created based on Mahad, or rather, "Dark Magician".

Although the card name looks a bit strange, with a sense of meaningless naming like "The Cursed Dragon - The Cursed Dragon," the handsome Mahad in the card art makes up for the name's flaws.

Rather, compared to the Mahad in the previous "Dark Magician" series, whose entire body was covered by a purple robe, this image of Mahad in "Dark Magician" is closer to the Mahad that Hayato remembers from the game—a muscular man who was skilled at unexpectedly smashing enemies' skulls with his staff.

In addition, the color of the robe has been changed from dark purple to pure black, and the edges are decorated with gold, making it look much cooler than the original.

Moreover, not only on this monster card, but also on another card that Hayato handed to Yugi, the image of [Dark Magician - Dark Magician] appears.

The spherical protective shield with its mirror-like luster in the card art, the attack that is reflected back, and the name that has hardly changed since "Dark Magic" was replaced with "Holy" clearly indicate that this [Dark Magic Shield - Mirror Power -] is an enhanced version of the game's most popular trap card, [Holy Shield - Mirror Power -].

The current [Golden Chest of Light] deck in the game has a fairly complete combo chain: try to search for [Tricolor Gadgets], then use them to search for [Golden Chest of Light], then special summon [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora G] to clear the field, and then use the subsequent effect to special summon either [Silent Magician Zero] (which is super effective against Spell Magic) or [Silent Swordsman Zero] (which is super effective against Targeting Effects). Utilize the increased ATK of the two monsters after leveling up to attack the cleared opponent along with [Destroyer Dragon], achieving an OTK victory.

However, this aggressive style of clearing the field suits Atum more than Yugi. It's not that Atum is also an aggressive player, but his fighting style is much more aggressive than Yugi's. He even suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Raphael because of this, almost causing Yugi to have his soul sealed.

Whether it's Hayato, Jonouchi, Kaiba, or even Atem, if they were to describe the game's dueling style, they would generally use two words—"heavy traps." Although Hayato strongly denied that others' opinions on the game's heavy trap level were on par with his own, the game's style is at least primarily heavy traps. Of course, to put it more nicely, it's called "defense and counter-attack."

However, Yugi didn't even use a single Trap Card in this duel, which shows that his "Golden Chest of Light" deck is indeed not well-designed. As a result, the deck currently does not have enough support Trap Cards designed according to Yugi's own dueling style. The only Trap Card is a Trap Monster card that is tied to "Triple Gadgets".

But it doesn't matter, the game has now successfully acquired new cards, including this one that fits his dueling style: [Black Magic Shield - Mirror Power -]!

Having discerned the significance of these two cards, Yugi looked at Hayato with some confusion and said, "Strange, Hayato, you only realized during the duel that I was using the [Golden Coffin of Light] deck, and I only created the cards I already owned. How did you conjure these two cards, Hayato?"

"Because I have a system that allows me to earn points by dueling, which can be used to buy cards, and cards can also drop as drops," Hayato said frankly.

The game player chuckled, giving off a "Do you think I'd believe that kind of talk?" look.

Seeing this, Hayato shrugged helplessly and put it another way: "A true duelist can create his own future by drawing cards. Isn't card printing a basic skill for a first-class duelist? It's just that compared to others, I, with my godlike talent, can even draw the opponent's cards."

Although it sounded like nonsense, Yugi nodded after Hayato finished speaking: "I see, so that's how it is. The resonance from your duel with me actually allowed you to draw the relevant card from my side, Hayato? That's impressive!"

Looking at him with genuine sincerity and admiration, Hayato, without the slightest embarrassment, put his hands on his hips and said smugly, "Heh heh heh, there's nothing I can do about it. With my terrifyingly divine talent, I'm already far ahead of my time. Just remember this gap that can never be closed, Yugi!"

"Even if you accept those two cards, it's alright. This is my reward for not letting you have a duel to your heart's content, given by someone with divine talent like myself!"

"I'm so sorry I couldn't let Hayato-sama have a proper duel..." Yugi said helplessly. "Do you think I would say that? Although the card design department of Kokusai Illusion is quite busy, I have read that manga recently, okay?"

“The recent thing you’re talking about is from last year, Yugi.” Hayato said with pity, patting Yugi, who was inexplicably about to become a corporate slave. “How about we have the card design department hire more people, like cheap and easy-to-bully interns or something.”