Duels should be played with a smile.

Unable to fight his own target, but instead dueling with someone who didn't even dare to reveal his identity, Raphael could only ensure that he treated his opponent with the most basic courtesy, which was the greatest respect he could show his opponent.

After dueling countless people in the world of Duel Links, he is now stronger than he ever was before.

But at the same time, he became even more disillusioned with the world.

He was a person protected by the elves, and he could clearly sense that the NPCs in the Duel Links world were, in essence, genuine elves.

He was delighted to be able to visit a world different from the ugly human world, and hoped to witness the beauty that was different from the human world.

He did indeed see it; many simple and honest spirits lived in harmony, and the kind of life he longed for was one of laughter and play with family and friends.

He had long since lost that right, which made him yearn for that kind of life even more.

But soon, their hopes and expectations for the elf world turned into disappointment.

Because while there are things in the world of elves that are more beautiful than those in the human world, there is also struggle and the ugliness that exists in the human world.

It was precisely because of this that he became even more convinced that destiny existed in the world, and that his destiny was to work with Dartz to return this world, which held nothing for him to cherish, to chaos and to create a brand new world.

"I activate the Continuous Spell [Guardian's Treasure Card], discard five cards from my hand to activate it, draw 2 cards, and while this card is on the field, during each draw phase I normally draw 2 cards."

"Flip a monster, place a backrow monster, and end your turn."

The card was familiar, but when Atm saw it thrown into the graveyard, his pupils dilated in disbelief.

I didn't see clearly what kind of cards they were, but there were definitely monster cards in them.

Atm wouldn't have been so surprised if Raphael had taken the monsters from the graveyard back, or even removed them.

"Raphael... what exactly have you been through in this world?"

While pondering to himself, Atm did not hesitate in his actions. He now had a vague feeling that this duel seemed to be somewhat predestined.

"My turn, draw a card!"

"Normal summon: [Skilled Blue Mage]!"

[Light ★★★★ · Mage · Attack 1800]

"As long as this card is in the Monster Zone, each time either you or your opponent activates a Spell Card, place 1 Spell Counter on this card."

Raphael raised an eyebrow. His enhanced deck also contained a monster related to magic counters, but that monster was nearly invincible under his prepared invincible tactic, far superior to this lower-level monster.

"Activate the Golden Goblin, draw 1, you recover 1000 LP, and at the same time place a counter for the Blue Mage."

"I'll activate [Supreme Fruit] again. My base score is lower than yours, so I'll recover 2000 LP and gain another counter!"

"Finally, I activate the Spell Card [Ancient Leaf]. If I have 9000 or more LP, I pay 2000 LP and draw 2 cards. That way, I've collected all three counters!"

The fluid and skillful maneuvering allowed the player to collect three magic counters without losing any cards. This amazing combination of multiple cards drew gasps of amazement from the audience—mainly because drawing the required bonds in the opening hand was enough to impress them.

"It seems your monster requires three magic counters to activate its effect?" Raphael asked with interest.

He's now showing some interest in his opponent.

The fact that he can use such a combo suggests that the quality of his soul must be quite good.

If we couldn't take the Pharaoh's soul, then let's use his as a substitute.

"Blue Mage's effect: You can activate this effect by Tributing this card with 3 Spell Counters. Special Summon 1 "Dark Knight Gaia" monster from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard."

"I release the Blue Demon Knight to Special Summon [Dark Knight Gaia King] from my Deck!"

"Ride your dragons and fight alongside me! Gaia!"

A dragon's roar resounded, followed by a blazing inferno as a knight wielding a lance descended upon the scene atop a flame-breathing dragon.

[Earth · 7★ · Warrior · Attack 2300]

When Gaia, a monster frequently used by Yugi Muto, appeared, the audience recognized him, and many people even stood up and cheered loudly.

“Gaia? Isn’t that the Pharaoh’s monster?” Raphael wondered, trying to connect the faceless man in front of him with the Pharaoh, but he immediately dismissed the unreliable idea.

"How could that be? The Pharaoh is sitting in the guest seats right now."

"Not bad teamwork, summoning a high-level monster so easily." Raphael casually praised, and was somewhat looking forward to the upcoming battle.

It's a bit of a shame that I didn't get to fight the Pharaoh, but this opponent seems pretty good too.

"My duels don't end there!"

"With the effect of [Thunder God] in your hand, you can Special Summon this card from your hand by paying 3000 Life Points."

"Descend, Thunder God!"

[LP: 8000 → 5000]

[Light · 7★ · Lightning · Attack 2700]

In the blink of an eye, the combined attack power of the two powerful monsters reached 5000, instantly heating up the atmosphere.

"Not bad, it seems you are a duelist who knows how to use LP very well."

It would be even better if he could join our side, but unfortunately, for now he can only serve as fuel for the new world.

"Enter battle!"

"First, King Gaia attacked the monsters that covered the area!"

King Gaia, who was riding a dragon instead of a horse, slammed his spear into the monster that was covering him, easily destroying it. However, the monster did not immediately disappear from the field.

"The Weapon Summoner's Flip effect: If flipped, search your Deck for one [Guardian].

"I'm adding [Guardian Aetos] to my hand!"

The spirits that fly through the sky have always protected Raphael. Aetos, who is like family to Raphael, came into his hands at Raphael's call.

A subtle sadness lingered in her clear eyes.

The noble elf possessed the power to see the truth, and she felt the warmth emanating from the other side.

In the eyes of those who can see elves, the noble guardian spreads its wings, and a feather falls into Atm's hand.

"Is that so... I appreciate your kind intentions."

"I never expected... In that case, let me end this karmic entanglement."

"Thunder God! Attack Raphael!"

Chapter 148 E!C!H!O! (Bounty Offered 2/?)

As we all know, powerful beings possess extraordinary powers, such as divine power or the power of thunder.

For example, the Sunshine Gun can wipe out your health bar in one shot, and the Elden Quick and Slow Knife can wipe out your health bar in one slash.

Under Atm's command, the Thunder God, who controlled lightning, brandished his weapon and attacked Raphael, who was completely defenseless.

The elves who were supposed to protect Raphael simply stood behind him, unmoved.

"An attack that was expected!"

"Activate the face card [Absorption Shield] to nullify the Thunder God's attack and restore my LP equal to the Thunder God's attack power!"

Raphael LP: 9000→11700

He took a big gulp, and with the 1000 gold he had previously earned, Raphael's LP directly exceeded 10,000.

"An absorption shield? Not bad defense."

The dueling style was quite different from what he had imagined. After the battle ended, Atm did not immediately continue with his next move. Instead, after some thought, he chose to cover one card in the back row and then ended his turn.

If Raphael were still playing in his old style, he would choose to cover all three cards, but for now, let's test the waters with one face-down card first.

"My turn! Because of the Guardian's Bozza effect, I can draw 2 cards."

"Activate the spell card Angel's Charity, draw three cards, and discard two."

Atm then noticed that among the cards that had been thrown down, there were monster cards.

“As fellow duelists, we share some similar ideas and perspectives,” Raphael suddenly said.

"I activate [Ancient Leaf], pay 2000 LP, and draw 2 cards."

Using the LP restored by Atm, he also enjoyed a potion of craving, and...

"Activate Pot of Greed again and draw two cards."

The audience watched in disbelief as Raphael's hand of cards rapidly increased, from one to five in the blink of an eye.

"You are a good duelist. If I met you in a duel link, I might have a good fight with you and enjoy the fun of dueling."

"Unfortunately, today is not a suitable day for enjoying a duel!"

"I activate the Spell Card [Monster Resurrection]!"

"Target the [Magic Puppet] in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to my field in Attack Position!"

A shower of light fell from the green Anka symbol, pulling the puppet controlled by the magic threads out of the graveyard.

[Dark 5★ Mage 2000 Attack Power]

"As long as this card is face-up on the field, each time either you or your opponent activates a Spell Card, place 1 Spell Counter on this card."

It's a card related to magic counters, similar to the Blue Demon Sorcerer, but summoning it at this time seems somewhat meaningless.

According to Atm's recollection, the most common spell cards in Raphael's deck are Equip Spell Cards.

Can equipping magic cards also generate magic tokens?

and many more? !

Atm suddenly looked up and searched for a figure in the surrounding audience seats.

“You…” Raphael was startled by Atm’s behavior, and the thoughts he had already put aside resurfaced.

"No, I'm probably just overthinking it."

"Distracted in your duel with me, it seems you're nothing special after all."

"In that case, I'll take your soul right away!"

"Normal Summon: Iron Knight Gia Fried!"

A knight clad in full iron armor appeared on Raphael's field, and Atm's search immediately ceased.

[Earth ★★★★ Warrior 1800 Attack Power]