Duel! Commence!

The duels in Duel City originated from an ancient civilization. It was a special method of summoning monsters, using cards in hand to summon the spirits of monsters for battle. The monsters could then combine with Spell Cards and Trap Cards within the cards. Normally, both sides have a certain amount of LP. When one side's LP reaches zero, the battle ends...

Recalling information about Duel City in his mind, Xiao Wen suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

In his memory, the Summoner profession had always been about traditional summoning. However, this unconventional summoning method like Duel City was something he had never seen before.

But it was precisely because of this that he found it increasingly interesting.

"Duel, commence!"

A crisp voice sounded in his ear. Looking around, he saw a disk on his wrist. As the voice fell, the disk split open slightly, extending a rectangular outer surface that curved inward towards the fist, forming a triangular shape.

This was the Duel Disk!

Standing opposite Xiao Wen was a delicately dressed little girl. Her porcelain-like face made one want to kiss her.

"NPC Sona."

"Duel, commence!" Xiao Wen said.

His wrist flashed with light, and the gifted Duel Disk appeared on the back of his hand. The gifted deck was also placed in the center of the disk.

Both sides drew five cards from their decks. Both sides' LP (Life Points) were 4000.

Monster Card [Kuriboh], Monster Card [Kuriboh], Monster Card [Cat Ear Tribe], Spell Card [Polymerization], Trap Card [Mystical Space Typhoon].

After glancing at the five cards in his hand, Xiao Wen stared at Sona, secretly contemplating his strategy.

"I'll go first. My turn, draw!" Sona shouted. The moment she said "draw," a flicker of heat flashed in her eyes. The tip of her middle finger pressed against the deck, and she drew a card!

"<(￣ˇ￣)/" Sona.

"Heh heh, looks like your luck is really bad, rookie duelist."

Sona thought this as she flipped over her hand, revealing the card—[Hermit's Poison].

Hermit's Poison - Quick-Play Spell Card.

Effect: You can activate 1 of the following effects. ① Restore your LP by 1200. ② Inflict 800 damage to your opponent.

"I choose to inflict 800 damage to my opponent."

The Spell Card in Sona's hand flashed, condensing into a dark black bottle in the air, hovering above Xiao Wen's head. The bottle tipped over, and black smoke drifted down, landing on Xiao Wen. A burning pain spread, and his soul felt corroded. He clutched his head with both hands, screaming out in pain.

"Ah..."

"Hmph! You can't even endure this little pain? You, and you still want to inherit the will of the Pharaoh? Delusional!" Sona looked at Xiao Wen coldly and sneered.

At the same time, she played a monster card from her hand.

"I summon [Flame Manipulator] in Defense Mode!"

"And I'll set one card face-down. I end my turn!"

Sona played two cards from her hand in quick succession. As the monster card was placed onto the Duel Disk, a ball of flame suddenly rose around it, transforming into a man wearing a blue headscarf.

He knelt on one knee, crossing his hands over his chest.

"[Flame Manipulator] - Spellcaster/FIRE. ATK: 900; DEF: 1000. On the first turn, the first player usually cannot attack, but the second player can. However, to attack the player directly, you must first defeat the monster in front of them."

Recovering from the soul-corroding pain, Xiao Wen recalled the rules of the Duel City game, a flame burning in his eyes.

"This kind of summoning duel is truly interesting!"

"My turn, draw!"

[Monster Dice] - Trap Card.

"In that case..."

Xiao Wen added the Trap Card to his hand, then took out another card from it, flipped it over, and revealed it.

"I summon [Kuriboh]."

The card glowed, transforming into a golden little dragon with two small wings on its back and clearly defined muscles all over its body.

[Kuriboh] - Dragon/WIND: ATK: 1200; DEF: 700.

"Kuriboh, attack Flame Manipulator and crush him!"

Xiao Wen waved his hand, and Kuriboh let out a roar in the air, charging towards Flame Manipulator.

With its 1200 ATK, it was enough to destroy Flame Manipulator, which had only 1000 DEF.

"Naive." Sona's mocking smile only grew wider. "Flip over my face-down card! Magic Cylinder!"

"Magic Cylinder, a Trap Card that can negate the attack of an attacking monster when an attack is declared, and inflict damage equal to that monster's ATK to the opponent."

"Therefore, you will have to endure your own monster's attack!"

The Trap Card was flipped over, and two giant cylinders appeared on the field. Kuriboh, which was charging towards Flame Manipulator, was sucked into one of the cylinder openings and then flew out of the other, charging towards Xiao Wen. Its two dragon claws clenched into fists and struck Xiao Wen, the intense pain impacting his body and mind.

His LP decreased by another 1200. His remaining LP was now only 2000.

In just the first turn, his Life Points were already halved, showing just how formidable the person in front of him was.

However, even so, Xiao Wen wasn't discouraged in the slightest. On the contrary, he could clearly feel the blood that had been dormant within him for a long time begin to boil!

"As expected, you're strong! Is this the combat of Duel City? I'm looking forward to it more and more."

A slight smile curved Xiao Wen's lips, a stubborn grin appearing on his face. He drew a card from his hand and placed it in his back row.

"I'll set one card and end this turn."

Sona drew her card with practiced skill. As the card's content came into view, the smile on her face grew even more pronounced.

"It seems your luck is truly terrible, as you drew this monster card for me."

"I summon Kycōr!"

The card transformed into a stream of light, revealing a giant, entirely dark green praying mantis with scythe-like forelimbs.

Kycōr - Insect/Wind: ATK: 1500; DEF: 800

"Kycōr, attack Kuriboh! And, change Flame Manipulator to attack position."

Flame Manipulator, which was kneeling, stood up. At the same time, Kycōr flapped its wings and charged towards Kuriboh.

"Once I eliminate the monster on your field, you'll lose next turn!"

Xiao Wen watched Kycōr charge with cold eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

"Is that so? You're celebrating far too soon! I activate my face-down card, Trap Card - Monster Dice!"

The face-down card opened, revealing a dark, black bat that held a giant, blood-red die in its clasped forelimbs.

Monster Dice:

Effect: Roll one die. The ATK and DEF of monsters on your opponent's field are decreased by the number rolled x 100 until the end of the turn.

The bat tossed the die into the air. The die spun in the air, then stopped. The face-up number was six.

"It seems my luck isn't as bad as you say."

The dark red die transformed into a crimson beam of light that surged into Kycōr and Flame Manipulator. The ATK and DEF of both monsters suddenly dropped by six hundred points.

900 ATK, 1200 DEF?

Isn't that just a moth flying into a flame?

"Kuriboh, counterattack!"