Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Paul Mackenzie was not possessed by [Tragodia], but he still changed his job from museum curator to professor at the Duel Academy West Branch. With his gentle and easy-going personality, he was well-liked by both teachers and students. In a few years, when the current principal retires, he may be able to take over as the principal of the West Branch.

Riki Mackenzie, without a dark past and raised in a peaceful environment, has achieved remarkable success in the Duel Monsters arena, earning her the title of "genius." However, this doesn't mean she's without worries and obsessions in this world.

"In your first year of school, you entered the top eight of the exchange competition as a freshman, crushing David and the others as the undisputed 'King' and becoming the third place winner." Looking at the boy standing opposite her, Ricky Mackenzie said with a stern face, "And in your second year, you arrogantly ignored the exchange competition and stopped participating. But why have you come back here now?"

"In the presence of the 'King,' is the honor that others crave merely a vulgar thing that you can summon and dismiss at will, at your whim? Fubuki Tenjouin!"

"Huh? What a huge scapegoat! I'm not taking the blame. I simply didn't have time when I didn't participate the following year." She casually glossed over her past of disappearance and descent into darkness, her flippant attitude unchanged despite being on stage. "Although your tone seems to be trying to be serious, it sounds more resentful to me, Riki-chan~"

"Ha, you actually remember my name? You remember the name of me, the loser you crushed back then?" Riki Mackenzie bit her lower lip and said defiantly, "But I don't remember our relationship being close enough for you to call me by my first name! Tenjouin!"

"You're so fierce! But actually, I wanted to use a nickname for you, Riki-chan, but 'Mark's' nickname is 'Mark,' which sounds like a man's name." Fubuki said helplessly, spreading her hands. "Women should be treated with the attitude and address that is appropriate for women. Unlike fighting with all your might when dueling with men, dueling with ladies should be gentle and elegant. This is my unshakable way of dueling!"

"Ha, that sounds like just making excuses for your womanizing and arrogance." Ricky Mackenzie remained expressionless. "Or do you think defeating me is so easy that you have enough leeway to maintain your elegance?"

“In that case, let me take this opportunity to exact my revenge and wipe away my shame!” Riki Mackenzie shouted as she inserted her deck into the Duel Disk, “Duel!”

[Rickie Mackenzie: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

After the opponent for the duel is determined, the time between the duel begins and the duel begins is not very long, but it is enough for a quick duelist to make subtle adjustments to the deck construction and to increase or decrease the number of cards in the deck based on the information he has about his opponent and the spare cards he has brought.

However, once Riki Mackenzie learned that her opponent was Tenjouin Fubuki, she couldn't wait to come to the field. She waited for Fubuki to walk slowly towards the field like a big star, interacting with the junior girls who knew him along the way. After making a few harsh remarks, Fubuki put her completely untested deck into use.

The actual reason is that Riki Mackenzie did adjust her deck, but rather that her deck never needed any adjustments from the beginning, at least not in the duel with Tenjouin Fubuki, because her deck was already fully adjusted without any changes.

From the very beginning, she built her deck with Tenjouin Fubuki as her hypothetical opponent, so there was no need for any adjustments!

Fubuki, however, shamelessly took a few cards from the spare cards in her waist card box after Riki Mackenzie had declared that she was ready for the duel. She then inserted the deck into the duel disk and let it automatically shuffle the cards: "Although she looks angry for no reason, Riki-chan is still very cute. She gets a high score in my heart."

"Although losing to Riki-chan isn't necessarily a bad thing, Professor Chronos would be so heartbroken he'd bite his handkerchief, wouldn't he? Besides, I'm not willing to give up the love of other fans just for Riki-chan's sake. I'm planning to shine in this exchange competition and become popular again."

"So, Duel."

[Tenjōin Fubuki: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

Fubuki's words startled Ruiji: "Become popular again? You enrolled three years ago, aren't you already a third-year student? What's the use of being popular? The exchange competition is over soon, and you'll be graduating soon, won't you?"

“Entering school three years ago doesn’t mean I’m a third-year student now. Actually, due to certain reasons, I’m just a second-year repeater, and I have to study for another year.” With a helpless shrug, Tenjouin Fubuki pointed at Riki Mackenzie and said, “Well then, let’s take the first turn and draw cards, Riki-chan. I’m actually quite looking forward to seeing how much you’ve grown over the years.”

"Hmph, I will prove it! I will prove that my strength surpasses yours, Fubuki Tenjouin!" Upon hearing Fubuki's words, Riki Mackenzie accepted the first turn without any politeness, drawing a card from her deck. This made Professor Chronos, who had been trying to test the duel system's automatic refereeing of the order of attack but had not had the chance, somewhat discouraged.

"My turn, draw a card!"

Chapter 1303 The Arrival of the Storm

"My turn, draw a card!"

Without a second thought about Edogawa Yuri's defeat, the one who immediately rushed to the arena to duel was—Ricky Mackenzie!

With Judai's seemingly ordinary but miraculous one-hit kill tactics made even more incredible by contrasting with Edogawa Yuri's overly amateurish gameplay, the audience was extremely excited about the duel between this beautiful exchange student from the Western branch campus and the slightly unfamiliar third-year student from the Blue Dormitory of the main campus.

After all, compared to the duel between the "country bumpkin from the Northern Branch and the bad student from the Red Dormitory", the duel between the "beauty from the Western Branch and the top student from the Blue Dormitory" is clearly a level higher just by looking at the composition of the participants. The audience just hopes that it won't end as quickly as Jaden's duel and leave them wanting more.

Riki Mackenzie, however, wasn't playing an "OTK" strategy. Instead, she used an Angel-type deck that reflected her usual elegant, peaceful, and solemn personality—at least that's how she usually is. But why is it that she can't remain calm when facing Fubuki...? Well, who knows?

Looking at the card she had drawn, Riki said, "Without last year's information, how has your deck changed since your first year, Fubuki Tenjouin? But my deck has become completely different."

"At the start of the main phase, I will activate the Continuous Spell Card, 【Birth of the Holy Night】, and immediately apply its effect!"

After inserting a card into the magic trap area, a black force began to expand behind Riki Mackenzie. In an instant, with the support of the dueling arena, it transformed into a pitch-black world covering the entire arena, giving those inside the room the illusion that they were sitting outdoors when they looked at the twinkling starry sky above them.

However, the pitch-black sky did not give people the uncomfortable feeling that is unique to dark games. On the contrary, it made people feel calm and even lighthearted, as if it was time to be happy.

"The two effects of 【Holy Night Birth】 can only be used once per turn. I will activate its first effect during my Main Phase." Riki said, drawing a card from her hand and showing it to Fubuki. "I am showing my opponent an Fairy-Type LIGHT monster from my hand. This is the card I am showing."

"Oh? Isn't this [Archangel - Christia]? I remember this was your ace monster back then, right, Riki-chan?" Fubuki commented, looking at the card Riki showed. "2800 attack power plus the ability to keep returning to the top of the deck, it's clearly a monster with simple enough summoning conditions and powerful enough to fit into your Angel-Type monster deck, but you just show it to me like this?"

"Of course, because it's no longer needed. Although my current deck is still an Angel-type deck, I'd rather use it to search for my new trump card than continue using this old card."

Retracting the displayed card, Riki continued, "After revealing the card, I will add one Level 7 LIGHT Dragon monster from my deck to my hand. I've chosen this one: [Holy Night's Radiant Dragon]!"

"Next, the [Archangel - Christia] card that I showed to my opponent is back at the bottom of my deck!"

A dazzling green aurora descended from the night sky, and Riki's Duel Disk automatically retrieved a card, which she then drew. Afterward, Riki placed the monster card she had previously shown at the bottom of her deck.

After completing this operation, the sacred aurora in the sky, which vaguely resembled a dragon, vanished in an instant. Apart from the students of the Northern Branch School, everyone else was somewhat unsatisfied with the sight.

As Ruiji was operating, Fubuki tilted her head in confusion: "[Holy Night's...Radiant Dragon]? It sounds like that has something to do with [Holy Night Dragon]?"

If we were to talk about the biggest impact Fubuki has suffered during his year-long disappearance, repeating a grade would be a minor issue. The real biggest impact would be the lag in information. His understanding of new card information is far less comprehensive and detailed than before. After all, you can't expect him to walk into a card shop wearing a mask to buy card packs during the "Darkness" era, can you?

In Domino City, where the control measures are the most stringent, wearing a mask makes it impossible to even enter the city, let alone buy a card. Even in remote areas abroad, such as Africa, where the control measures are less stringent, basic real-name verification is required to buy a card.

Even if you have money, it's useless, because at the suggestion of a certain Duel King who wishes to remain anonymous, the Seahorse Group and the International Illusion Society directly set up a "reward for reporting" mechanism. A successful report will directly reward you with 500,000. Even the most greedy card shop owner knows to weigh whether the profit of 500,000 US dollars or a few high-priced card packs is greater and the risk is less.

Therefore, even in capitalist countries like the United States, no matter how much money you spend, you can't buy cards to learn about the latest Duel Monsters information while wearing a mask and hiding your identity. More likely, the police on the street will see a guy who is completely covered up walking down the street, assume that you are a good moving target, and perform the American-style traditional martial art - Smith & Wesson Iai.

Unfortunately, at that moment, the "Holy Night Dragon" that Riki Mackenzie was using was exactly in Fubuki's blind spot. At most, she could only associate it with a long-standing Normal Monster, "Holy Night Dragon," based on the card image she had only seen once and the similar card name.

"There is indeed a connection between [Holy Night Dragon] and [Holy Night Radiant Dragon]. They have the same level, attribute, race, and even attack and defense. If you have to say something, it's like [Rock Giant] and [Rock Soldier], which are effect monster versions of normal monsters."

After a pause, Ruiji continued, "However, in my opinion, the [Holy Night's Blazing Dragon] is actually more like the evolved and grown form of the [Holy Night Dragon], just like the growth I've experienced over the years that you, Fubuki Tenjouin, have never witnessed!"

"Next, I will Normal Summon this monster, 【Night Knights Riel】, in Attack Position, and activate its first effect, which can only be activated when it is Normal Summoned, to add one 【Night Knights】 Spell/Trap Card from my Deck to my hand."

"I choose, [The Glorious Holy Night]."

Wearing a white Victorian-style jumpsuit over a suit of ornate yet understated armor, with the inside of her boots revealing the fair skin of her upper thighs, the female knight, named "Rayel," gracefully descends onto the field of Rachel Mackenzie, her wings fluttering behind her. The words "Ray" and "el," representing "light" and "holy" respectively, are combined to form the neologism "Rayel."

【Holy Night Knights - Riel】【4☆/Light】

[Angel Race/Effect]

[1800/700]

As soon as she appeared, the green gem embedded in the spear in the hand of [Holy Night Knights Riel] suddenly lit up, emitting a glow similar to the aurora before. That light flowed into Riel's hand and turned into a card.

"So that's how it is. 【Holy Night Knights】is 'Starry Knight', a knight of the twinkling stars? What a romantic name. But 【Holy Night's Radiant Dragon】is 'Starry Night'. It seems like it's 'Holy Night' but it doesn't actually have the word 'Holy Night' in it. It's playing a word game with the same pronunciation of 'Knight' and 'Night'."

Although she didn't know much about the [Holy Night] card that Riki used at first, after the other party played two cards, Fubuki, who had studied eight foreign languages ​​and had a fairly good command of English in order to chat up beauties from all over the world, suddenly realized, "Then that [Holy Night Birth] card, the 'Nativity' in the name specifically refers to the birth of Christ in a certain context, and the abbreviation of the card name actually refers to 'Christmas'."

"I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful, Riki. Since the academy exchange competition didn't coincide with Christmas, are you planning to make up for our Christmas date in a duel?"

Fubuki's flippant attitude failed to provoke Riki; instead, it angered her: "Who wants to date a womanizer like you? Treating my [Knights of the Holy Night] with that arrogant attitude will only make you regret it! I search for this Field Spell Card added to my hand using the effect of [Knights of the Holy Night - Riel], and activate [Glorious Holy Night]!"

"As long as this card is in the Field Zone and can be summoned only once in addition to my Normal Summon, I may Summon one more [Knights of the Holy Night] monster or a Level 7 LIGHT Dragon monster during my Main Phase!"

Placing the card into the area of ​​the Duel Disk that had been opened, and watching as countless stars lit up the dark night sky after the aurora faded, Riki Mackenzie drew another card from her hand and played it, "Now I summon the second form of the [Knights of the Holy Night] monster—[Knights of the Holy Night - Astra]!"

With the same white armor and white wings, another knight, seemingly an angel incarnate, has descended. This time, the [Holy Night Knights - Astra] appears noticeably younger than the [Holy Night Knights - Riel], and his weapon has changed from a long spear to a short staff in one hand, but the holy aura he exudes has not diminished in the slightest.

Furthermore, its name is the same as the previous 【Holy Night Knights·Riel】. The name "Astel" is clearly a combination of "aster" and "el", which represent "star". Just as "Rayel" can be called "Holy Light", "Astel" can also be called "Holy Star".

【Knights of the Holy Night - Astra】【4☆/Light】

[Angel Race/Effect]

[500/2000]

However, what's more puzzling is that it's understandable that the 【Holy Night Knights - Riel】 with an attack power of 1800 is in attack position, but the second monster summoned by Riki, 【Holy Night Knights - Astra】, has an attack power of only 500, yet it's also in attack position, even though its defense power is a much higher 2000. This strange behavior is really baffling.

After placing a sticker in the back row, playing the field, and setting up two monsters, Riki Mackenzie still had three cards left in her hand. Without hesitation, she drew two cards and said, "Next, I'll set two more cards face down in the back row and end my turn."

"Then, bring it on, Fubuki Tenjouin! Can your storm blow away this sacred starry sky?!"

[Rickie Mackenzie: 4000LP, hand 6→1]

【Holy Night Knights - Riel】【ATK1800】

【Holy Night Knights - Astra】【ATK500】

[Christmas Eve] [Gaikka] X2

Venue: [A Glorious Holy Night]

Looking at the lineup set up by Riki Mackenzie, Fubuki showed no tension whatsoever. Instead, she smiled and said, "Hmm? You still have one card left in your hand? That must be the [Holy Night's Blazing Dragon] that you retrieved from your hand earlier, right? You deliberately put all your past trump cards at the bottom of the deck, where they're almost impossible to draw again... So, in your opinion, that [Holy Night's Blazing Dragon] has even greater power than [Archangel - Christia], right?"

"However, there is one thing our principal said that I have always liked: 'No matter how powerful a monster is, it is meaningless if you can't play it.' Even though you specifically searched for that card in your hand last turn, you didn't use it at all during your turn."

After a pause, under the astonished and even somewhat horrified gaze of Riki Mackenzie, Fubuki still smiled slowly and casually said something that surprised her greatly, "So, does this mean that, Riki-chan, you actually have a way to play it during my turn? Otherwise, you could have waited until your next turn to retrieve it, so that I wouldn't have used it up prematurely with a card like [Mental Collapse]?"

"..." After a brief silence, Riki looked at Fubuki with an extremely complicated expression. "...Are you really sure you haven't heard of the [Holy Night] deck before, Fubuki Tenjouin?"

"It's true, just like how much I like you, Riki-chan."

Although that's what Fubuki said, Ruiji felt that if Fubuki didn't laugh while speaking, his words might be even more credible.

After finishing his duel and returning to the audience, Jaden watched the conversation between Fubuki and Miki on the field and said with some strangeness, "Their communication is so weird. Speaking of which, why would that guy named Mark Seven say something about letting Fubuki's 'storm blow open the starry sky'?"

"Even if we're going to use each other's decks as an analogy, 'Red-Eyes' doesn't seem like a deck that could be associated with 'Storm,' does it?"

“Judai, didn’t you know? Oh right, you guys are this year’s freshmen.” Maeda, who was in the same grade as Judai and the others and had enrolled last year, suddenly remembered that he was a repeat student. “Although I didn’t interact with Tenjouin Fubuki, who was a second-year student at the time, I did hear that he didn’t use the Red-Eyes Black Dragon deck, but a different deck called ‘The Coming Storm’.”

"Just like Marufuji Ryo, who commanded the Roman Empire's army and crushed everything with unparalleled force, earning the name 'Caesar,' Tenjouin Fubuki was known as one of the 'Twin Pillars of Duel Academy,' on par with him, and was called 'King,' meaning emperor."

"The reason for this title is that his 'Storm' deck has an overwhelming level of dominance, making the opponent feel suffocated as if they are awaiting judgment before an emperor who decides fate."

"My turn, draw a card." Smiling, Fubuki casually played the card she drew from her deck. "It is said that in ancient Persian mythology, there was a kind-hearted divine bird that represented divine wisdom and perfect humanity. She lived on an ancient sea tree that bore all the seeds of plants. Whenever she flew away from the tree, the tree would grow thousands of branches, and when she returned to her nest, the branches would break off and send the seeds down the sea to all parts of the world."

"Can't understand? I thought a literary girl like you, Riki-chan, would be interested in mythology and go to the library to look it up and memorize this passage." Fubuki shrugged and inserted the card she had just drawn into the Spell & Trap Zone. "Then, I'll activate this Spell Card during my Main Phase, [The Divine Bird's Invasion]."

"I can activate this card by discarding one Winged Beast monster from my hand. Add up to two [Smurf] monsters of the same Attribute from my Deck to my hand!"

Pointing her finger to the sky, Fubuki struck a rare cool and stylish pose, instead of her usual eccentric demeanor, and shouted her line: "I am the storm that is approaching!"

Chapter 1304 Smoloff vs. Saint Night? Strong Nineteen vs. Yuzo Shangmo!

"Discard one Bird-type monster from my hand to activate [The Invasion of the Divine Bird], adding two [Smurf] monsters of the same attribute with the most copies from my deck to my hand!"

Fubuki inserted a spell card into the back row and showed a card from her hand. "As the cost of activating this spell, the card I sent to the graveyard is this [Dark Lord - Smoloff]."

Watching Fubuki send the card to the graveyard to search for a new card, Riki frowned: "That's what's infuriating. On one hand, she's making a huge fuss over me putting the card back at the bottom of the deck, but on the other hand, she's sending her own monster to the graveyard just to search for a new card. Which one is the worst?"

"Is that all you learned from your principal?!"

"Achoo!" Hayato couldn't help but sneeze, calmly ignoring the teasing looks from Yugi and the others behind him, and casually said, "It must be Kaiba talking bad about me."

Looking at Principal Hayato sitting by the dueling arena, Fubuki shrugged: "I didn't want to either, but there's nothing I can do. Hayato-sensei said I have a talent for sending cards to the graveyard. By chance, even the two decks I have are good at filling the graveyard and making various abilities from the graveyard. Maybe this is what Hayato-sensei meant by 'the mutual attraction between duelists and decks'?"

Hayato did mention the "talent for graveyard stacking" to Fubuki in the past. After all, while blindly stacking cards seems to rely on luck, it still requires considerable talent. Some duelists play decks that rely on the graveyard and have good draw luck, but they just don't seem to have any talent for graveyard stacking. They can stack powerful cards like Pot of Greed into the graveyard with a Normal Summoning deck of three monsters, but they can't stack even a single card that can be used for combos.

"Achoo!" Kobayashi Hiroyuki suddenly sneezed, calmly took the handkerchief handed to him by his wife, and said with certainty, "Hmph, it must be that wicked son of Kobayashi Hayato who is talking badly about me, Kobayashi Hiroyuki-sama!"

The best way to measure someone's graveyard-building ability is simply to have them use a full deck of 60 cards (half useless cards and half combo cards), shuffle it, and duel against an opponent using a 40-card deck. At the start of the duel, they should play a "Neighborhood Grass Cut" card. The ratio of useless cards to combo cards that end up in the graveyard will reveal their true talent for graveyard building.