First Meeting with the Three Phantom Gods

"Heh... heh heh..."

A light chuckle echoed as Sona, half-bent over after being blasted away by the Giant Soldier of Stone's direct attack, let out a series of laughs.

"Interesting. I didn't expect you to push me to this extent even with only thirty percent of my power. In that case, I won't hold back anymore!"

"Draw!"

With a sharp cry, a card appeared before Sona's eyes. The smile on her face immediately grew even more intense.

"I drew a great card. The real battle starts now! I activate the Spell Card, Premature Burial!"

"Emerge, my powerful servant, Egg Dragon!"

A black vortex appeared on the ground, and the Egg Dragon's figure slowly rose from within the vortex.

"At the cost of 800 Life Points, select one monster in your Graveyard and equip it as an Equip Card to revive it."

"Egg Dragon, attack the Giant Soldier of Stone!"

An attack command was issued. Egg Dragon stomped its short, thick legs forward, grabbed the Giant Soldier of Stone, its shell cracked open. It opened its large mouth and swallowed the Giant Soldier of Stone in one gulp.

The shockwave washed over, and Xiao Wen's Life Points dropped by another 600.

His Life Points were now at 1500, while Sona only had 300 left.

Judging by the Life Points, Xiao Wen seemed to have the advantage. However, Sona had the Egg Dragon on her field with an attack power of 2200. Without dealing with it, he couldn't launch a direct attack on Sona.

"I end my turn," Sona declared.

Xiao Wen's expression turned slightly grim. He drew a card. A Trap Card, Magic Cylinder, was pulled from his Deck.

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

Xiao Wen placed the card face down, ending his turn.

"You're not even summoning a monster? It seems you've given up. In that case, I'll send you on your final journey!"

"Egg Dragon, attack! Finish off the opponent's life!"

Egg Dragon charged, heading for Xiao Wen. It raised a fist and attacked the lone Kuriboh on Xiao Wen's field.

"This is the moment! I activate the Trap Card, Magic Cylinder!"

A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Wen's eyes, and the smile on his face reached its peak.

Although he couldn't deal with the Egg Dragon, with its 2200 attack power, anymore.

He did, however, have a way to bypass the Egg Dragon and attack the player directly.

And this method was the card he had just set: Magic Cylinder!

Magic Cylinder - Trap Card

Effect: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, negate the attack of the attacking monster and inflict damage equal to its Attack Points to the opponent.

The face-down card flipped up, and a giant Magic Cylinder appeared. It sucked in the charging Egg Dragon, while another part of the cylinder vibrated. The Egg Dragon flew out, crashing into Sona and reducing her remaining 300 Life Points to zero.

"You lose."

Xiao Wen spoke calmly.

Even though Sona had spoken harshly earlier, he couldn't muster any ill will towards this woman.

Deep down, he could even sense a hint of concern in her words.

What seemed like disdain earlier was also a form of encouragement for Xiao Wen.

"You win. You can choose one of these cards as your fixed card to use outside of Duel City."

The phantom monster apparitions dissipated, and Sona walked up to Xiao Wen, a slight smile on her usually calm face.

She raised her hand, and cards appeared one by one in front of Xiao Wen, forming a wall of cards.

However, all these cards were face down, preventing Xiao Wen from seeing their contents.

"So... I just pick one like this?"

Xiao Wen looked at Sona, completely bewildered.

"Just pick one. The person chooses the card, but the card also chooses its master. The cards in your hand were gifted by Duel City, not obtained by yourself. Therefore, the first thing you need to do if you want to become the King of Duelists in Duel City is to build your own deck."

"Build my own deck?"

Xiao Wen muttered, and the image of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon he had summoned that day couldn't help but surface in his mind.

Its majestic figure, its spread wings, its proud eyes, like a king standing between heaven and earth, disregarding all existence in the world.

"Can I build a deck entirely composed of powerful cards like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"

"Powerful?" Sona's face showed a mocking smile as she scoffed, "The power of a monster is not true power. In the world of duels, as long as you can combine Spell, Trap, and Monster Cards, you can defeat even gods! And this is also the charm of dueling!"

"Draw your card. If you don't draw soon, you'll lose your draw bonus."

Xiao Wen nodded, but Sona's words still echoed in his mind.

In the world of dueling, while monster attack power often determined the outcome, it wasn't absolute.

As long as you believed in your deck and could draw the cards you wanted, even a group of low-level monsters, after proper combination, could still defeat high-level monsters!

"In that case, I'll choose this one!"

Xiao Wen's gaze swept over the pile of cards. He reached out with one hand, touched one of the cards, and then quickly drew it back.

Monster Card: [Giant Soldier of Stone]

[Giant Soldier of Stone]: Level 4; Warrior/EARTH

ATK: 100 / DEF: 2600

Description: ①: When a Spell Card is activated targeting this face-down card, activate this effect. This card becomes face-up Defense Position, and its activation is negated.

②: If this card is attacked, it becomes Attack Position at the end of the Damage Step.

Xiao Wen's face showed a slight smile as he took in the effects of the [Giant Soldier of Stone].

"A Level 4 monster that can be Normal Summoned without a tribute, with a DEF of 2600. With this, the defense of my deck will be significantly strengthened."

Xiao Wen muttered to himself and added the [Giant Soldier of Stone] to his deck.

Ding! NPC Sona is requesting your Duel Disk. Grant it?

A prompt sound came. Xiao Wen saw Sona extend her hand and beckon him.

"Rookie, give me the Duel Disk, and I'll help you unseal the temple."

"Temple? Unseal?"

Xiao Wen was completely in the dark about what she was talking about. However, he still chose to agree to hand over the Duel Disk.

After handing over the Duel Disk, Xiao Wen followed Sona and walked towards the center of Duel City.

This was his first time wandering around Duel City.

It was like a city independent of the outside world. There were NPC residents here, as well as shops, restaurants, and places to buy and sell.

Take a good look. These people will be your citizens in the future. I hope when you inherit Duel City, you won't forget to lead them out of the curse of nightmares.

Sona, walking ahead, glanced at Xiao Wen's actions and thought to herself.

"We're here. This is the entrance to the temple."

Sona stopped abruptly after bringing Xiao Wen to a pyramid inverted in the sky in the center of the city.

Xiao Wen didn't reply. At this moment, his attention was completely captured by the three colossal monster statues standing below the pyramid.

Names surfaced one after another in his mind.

The Three Phantom Gods!

Obelisk the Tormentor!

Slifer the Sky Dragon!

The Winged Dragon of Ra!