Duels should be played with a smile.

[Dark Link 6 Cyber ​​World Attack Power 0 Arrow ←↙↑↓↘→]

Under Chronos's astonished yet bewildered gaze, the six dragon maids transformed into a monster that seemed to have no connection to them whatsoever, yet possessed astonishing power.

"The Cyber ​​Race...aren't they a race unique to residents of the virtual world? Could he be from the virtual world? But his fusion summoning is also very skillful..."

Chronos didn't even bother to see how strong the Proximate really was; he just knew it couldn't be weak from seeing that Link 6 he'd never seen before.

"Only one of these monsters can be face-up on your field at any time, and its original ATK becomes 1000 times the number of monsters used as Link Material for this card!"

[Attack power of the arrival: 0 → 6000]

"Six thousand? That's truly an eye-opener. This is the monster with the highest initial attack power I've ever seen, but a monster's attack power shouldn't be the sole criterion for judging its strength!"

"That's right! So, besides having high attack, he's also completely resistant! He's unaffected by the effects of other cards!"

"What?! 6000 attack power and all resistance? Oh my god, how can we possibly win against that?!"

"Besides, it seems you just used attack stances on all the monsters to try and inflict damage, didn't you?" Leyou said, staring intently at the shameless demon god.

"Advance to Battle Tier! Arrival, see that pathetic guy with only 1000 attack power and all resistances? Go up there and give him a punch!"

The arrival faithfully carried out the orders given by Leyou, and smashed the monster, which was called a demon god but whose attack power was not even as good as a certain little bird that was also an all-resistant monster, with a single punch. The huge impact made Chronos behind it feel dizzy.

【Kronos LP: 6000→1000】

But that's all. No matter how strong the arrival is, it's still just a monster.

"Entering the second main phase, I activate the fourth effect of the Advent!"

"What?! It's still working?!"

"As the only link 6, isn't it normal for it to have a slightly better effect?" Leyou explained matter-of-factly.

"Once per turn, I target your Hounds on the field, destroy them, and summon a Level 1 Token in the Link Zone of my Advent."

"Then I used this derivative as material to perform a Link Summon!"

The arrow reappeared, but this time there was only one single arrow.

"Link 1, my good friend! [Connect to Kuriboh]!"

[Dark Link 1 Cyber ​​World Attack Power 300 Arrow ↓]

Despite his adorable appearance and frail physique, no one can underestimate him, simply because he is a Goomba.

"The round is over, Mr. Chronos. These are the questions I gave you. I wonder if you can solve these three questions?"

The arrival of the Kuriboh ball, a backcourt ball—this is the riddle that Leyou left for Chronos.

If I can't handle the board, can't I at least handle the board? I didn't play all those Dragon Radiance, Dragon Maid, and Magician games for nothing!

Although it's not that difficult to solve.

"To be able to summon such a powerful monster, you are a duelist worthy of respect." Professor Chronos's face held a solemnity that belied his slightly comical appearance.

"I could have used effect damage to wipe out your meager LP, but to show my respect for you, I will now use all my strength to defeat you head-on!"

For the first time in a long time, Professor Chronos felt a surge of excitement.

His Ancient Gear deck won't stand still just because the enemy is strong!

"Please go ahead," Leyou replied casually, "It's also a wise choice."

The implication is that if Professor Chronos were to actually use effect damage, the outcome might not be what he intended.

Upon hearing this answer, Professor Chronos was both startled and delighted. He hadn't expected that his statement would yield such valuable information.

It seems his back row consists of face-down cards used for defense or to reflect effect damage, which is most likely [Spell of Pain].

Looking at his remaining 1000LP, he couldn't help but feel a little fortunate—but his dignity as a nobleman also prevented him from using this information.

Since he promised to defeat them head-on, he will definitely keep his word!

"My turn, draw a card!"

The Pot of Greed laughed, and laughed in a very comical way.

"So what if he only has 6000 attack points! Watch me take him down with my giant! Ta-da!"

Chapter Five: Dimensional Turmoil, The Beginning of Legend

Professor Kronos was in high spirits at that moment.

It's been a long time since I've experienced this kind of pure combat.

"My deck responded to me!"

For true duelists, everything is inevitable! At this moment, Chronos began to understand this statement that someone had said.

At this moment, drawing this card must mean that his deck also hoped for it!

With the addition of the Ancient Gear Giant that was pulled back from the deck after the Gear God was destroyed in battle, he now has all the materials needed to fuse and summon either the Super Titan or the Ultimate Titan on the field.

but!

If he doesn't summon the Chaos Giant, the card with the highest attack power in his deck, at this moment, he feels that his mind is not working properly!

Since the opponent is going all out, there's no way I can hold back!

"Just watch! Unleash the full power of my Ancient Mech deck!"

"Activate the second effect of my Graveyard Shooter, destroy my Ancient Gear Fortress on the field, and Special Summon a Token."

The fortress was sunk, but new monsters were born from the ruins.

"If the Fortress is destroyed, you can Special Summon an Ancient Gear Monster from your hand or Graveyard!"

"I will Special Summon the Ancient Gear Dragon from the Graveyard!"

"And immediately activate the Flying Dragon's effect, retrieve the Mechanical Box, and the Mechanical Box will retrieve the Ancient Mechanical Knight!"

Before even using the cards drawn this turn, Chronos gained two more monsters on his field and two more in his hand by paying the price of a Continuous Spell Card.

"Let's use this card to bring this duel to a close!"

"This is the supreme power of the Machine Race! I activate the Spell Card [Power Fusion]!"

"Send the Fusion Material Monsters specified on a Machine-Type Fusion Monster Card from your hand or field to the Graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon! Monsters Special Summoned by this effect gain their original ATK by the same amount!"

What to summon at this point is obvious.

"I'll use the two mechanical dragons on the field, the mechanical box in my hand, and the mechanical knight as materials! Fusion Summon!"

"Descend once more! [Ancient Mechanical Chaos Giant]!"

With the addition of new power, the ancient machines shone with new brilliance, and the already formidable Chaos Giants became even more powerful than before.

Chaos Giant Attack Power: 4500 → 9000

A Chaos Giant with an attack power of 9000, a Colossus with an attack power of 3300, and a Original Giant with an attack power of 3000—the three giants stood atop the ruins of the Mechanical Fortress, like guardians who had protected this place since time immemorial.

“Powerful cards often come with risks. At the end of the turn when I use Power Bond, I will take damage equal to the increased value of this effect,” Chronos explained nonchalantly.

At the same time, seeing the Chaos Giant with an attack power of nearly ten thousand, which was already overwhelming the approaching opponent, Leyou couldn't help but praise, "Oh, it seems you really are fighting with your back against the wall! Good! Very good! I love this kind of duel where souls collide!"

He also glanced at his own faceplate.

"Then there's no need for further words! Let's begin the final battle!"

Ignoring Kuriboh, which only had 300 attack power and could only serve as a supervisor, Professor Chronos summoned the Chaos Giants to launch an attack on the Arrivers.

Kuriboh and Advent may have some powerful effects, but against the Chaos Giant's blockade, no monster effects can be added to the battle.

"Leyou, I've secured victory in this duel!"

Chronos smiled like a pot of greed that had just emerged from the Forbidden Card List.

Unfortunately, what he thought was a pure battle turned into a tactical brilliance.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not one to give away victory easily."

"The Advent was indeed no match for your Chaos Giant, but you failed to seize the opportunity I deliberately left for you."

If he chooses to use the Mechanical Titan or the Super Titan to attack Kuriboh, then the Chaos Titan with its Battle Rank sealing effect and the Mechanical Titan with its Magic Sealing effect will achieve a decisive victory.

Unfortunately, he chose the path that most Souls players would choose.

"I'm sorry, your Chaos Giant is unaffected by magic traps, but as everyone knows, duelists have no resistance."

With a hint of apology, Leyou smiled and flipped over his face-down card: "I'm activating my face-down Trap Card, [Dimensional Wall]."

"Activated when the opponent's monster declares an attack, the battle damage in this battle is borne by the opponent."

A dimensional rift appeared out of nowhere in front of Leyou and connected to Professor Chronos's back, where an identical rift also appeared.

The battle, which had already begun, could not be stopped. With no other means of interception, the invincible Chaos Giant punched the Advent, easily defeating it.

"Aaaaaaah? It's out!"

"Mamma mia!"

The endless impact and wind pressure passed through the arrivals and rushed straight towards Leiyou, only to be absorbed by the dimensional rift and transported behind Professor Chronos.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

【Kronos LP: 1000→0】

The duel ended in a very dramatic fashion. After the violent impact, Professor Chronos's once impeccable attire became somewhat wrinkled, and his mushroom-shaped haircut was also a bit disheveled by the wind.

"We won! What a Tanosi duel, Mr. Chronos!"

Kronos, who had been blown to the ground, stared blankly at the hand extended in front of him, but what came to mind was a scene of a cheerful boy speaking the same words in a similar tone.

That scene feels like it was just yesterday.

"Ah...that's right, it was indeed an interesting duel, Mr. Leiyou."

The towering Professor Chronos was more than half a head taller than Leyou, and the experience of being pulled up was quite novel for him.

"Let's not be so formal. After the duel, we'll all be friends. We don't need those complicated titles anymore. Let's just call each other by our names!"

"So, we become friends after a duel...that's a pretty good suggestion!"

In these few brief exchanges, Chronos felt a great fondness for the young man he had only just met.

It wasn't because he had overcome himself, but because he saw the shadow of his former best student in him.