"Even if he couldn't win, I'd still be taking a huge loss!" Youye refused, rubbing his chin with his right hand.
Seeing Youye deep in thought, Dark Insect's eerie smile froze. His eyes widened as though he could not understand what was happening before him.
"Huh?"
A faint green glow shone from the Black-robed Figure's eyes. A Dark Duel was a leveraged duel that used life as collateral. Since it was leverage, there had to be a ratio. This duel, for instance, was roughly one hundred to one. The value of their demand fell within one hundred times Dark Insect's worth, so by the rules, Youye had to duel Dark Insect.
Yet Youye could now deliberate, which meant the Dueling Rules had judged that having Youye join them and share his knowledge was worth more than one hundred Dark Insects.
One hundred times the value of a Quasi-Earth Level duelist... That kind of leverage could even move a Heaven Level. Yet it could not move Youye? That was absurd.
Then he became excited!
If Youye could not be moved, it meant his value surpassed that of an ordinary Heaven Level. Recruiting him now and turning him into a companion of the Dark Duelists was clearly the right choice!
But the question was how to make the leverage work and forcibly make Youye agree to a Dark Duel. Otherwise, no matter how much Youye knew, what did it have to do with the Dark Duelists?
A few seconds later, he went numb. Only by giving Youye a card he wanted and having him join without any additional conditions did the leverage finally tip.
"Hm? A forced duel? The conditions changed too. It was only about joining now. The extra conditions from before—sharing knowledge with them and helping them optimize their decks—were all gone? If I win, I get all assets, including Dark Insect and everything under his archetype, plus an additional card of my choice from their revealed card list?"
At the same time, Youye discovered that the Dueling Rules had notified him that a Dark Duel was about to begin. Looking at the terms, he could not help but pause in surprise.
"Youye, you can think of a Dark Duel as leverage. The value they offered just now wasn't enough to move it, so they increased their stake and lowered your requirements until the leverage worked, forcing you into a Dark Duel." Seeing Youye's confusion, the restrained Munin explained.
"I see. Then let's begin." After Munin's explanation, Youye's lips curled slightly.
Hearing that, he suddenly realized these people were not Dark Duelists at all. They were simply walking Coin Monsters, waiting for him to kill them and Drop Gold.
His gaze immediately turned toward the Black-robed Figure, filled with excitement. Before this duel had even begun, he was already looking forward to which Dark Duelist would Drop Gold for him next!
Black-robed Figure: ???
Feeling the burning intensity in Youye's eyes, the Black-robed Figure inexplicably felt a chill. His body trembled slightly on instinct, as if some great terror had set its sights on him.
That completely confused him. Was he the Dark Duelist, or was Youye?
"Kid, are you looking down on me that much?" Dark Insect, who had been ignored the entire time, finally spoke in a hoarse, furious voice.
He was only one rule certification away from becoming an Earth Level duelist, and he was a Dark Duelist too. Under normal circumstances, whenever ordinary duelists encountered him, they would turn and run. Yet today, someone was ignoring him—and it was someone who had only just received Dueling Rules certification. How could he tolerate that?
As for Youye's Master Duel rank being ridiculously high? So what? This was a normal duel. In this duel, aside from his dueling knowledge, Youye could not use any powerful decks at all!
"Yes!" Youye turned around, examined Dark Insect for a second, then nodded seriously.
Munin: 0V0!
Black-robed Figure: oO!?
Dark Insect: ┗|｀O′|┛
Other than the spirit restraining Youye, who showed no expression at all, the two humans and one spirit could no longer keep it together.
One really dared to ask, and the other really dared to answer!
"Very well, then let's begin! I hope you won't be crying and begging to surrender later!" Veins bulged across Dark Insect's skinny body. He laughed in rage and spoke in a low voice, suppressing his anger.
"I'm looking forward to it." Youye smiled slightly, unconcerned by Dark Insect's threat.
Youye (8000 LP) vs. Dark Insect (8000 LP)
Both sides drew five cards. The Dueling Rules let Youye choose who went first, and he chose to go first. Both sides drew five cards, and the duel began.
"Going straight to the Main Phase. Any response?" Youye asked.
"No!" Dark Insect answered after glancing at his hand.
The moment Dark Insect answered, Youye moved.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Runick Dispelling, choosing to Special Summon Hugin in Defense Position. When Hugin is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I discard Effect Veiler from my hand to activate her effect!"
"I chain Chaos Hunter from my hand as Chain Link 2! When you Special Summon a monster, I can discard one card to Special Summon her to my field!"
Effect resolution: Chain Link 2, Chaos Hunter's effect. Dark Insect discarded Built-in Machine Gun and Special Summoned Chaos Hunter in Attack Position; Chain Link 1, Hugin's effect. Youye added the Field Spell Runick Fountain to his hand.
"Hahahaha! Go on, keep acting proud, keep getting cocky! I'll crush you with a single card!" Once Chaos Hunter appeared, Dark Insect's face was filled with excitement and smugness.
Munin's expression darkened. She had encountered this card on the ladder before. If her opponent had not been unaware of Hugin's effect, she would have lost.
Now that a Dark Duelist had come knocking with this card, he had clearly researched cards that countered Runick. In that case, he certainly would not make the rookie mistake of destroying Hugin.
Seeing this, the Black-robed Figure simply sat down leisurely, as though he had already decided the victory was theirs.
Only Youye ignored him. Looking at the white-haired Chaos Hunter on Dark Insect's field, dressed in black and holding a whip, his eyes showed a faint trace of surprise.
As long as Chaos Hunter existed in the Monster Zone, the opponent could not banish cards. It was a Continuous Effect that did not need to be activated.
To be fair, it did counter Runick quite effectively. But did it counter him? Of course not!
What he was focused on now was the Built-in Machine Gun in Dark Insect's Graveyard.
Built-in Machine Gun plus Chaos Hunter—Youye naturally understood what deck his opponent was using and what countermeasure this was.
"I activate the Spell Card Magical Eyes Skill Drain. Starting this turn, I can draw two cards and conduct two Normal Summons, but I am restricted from activating the effects of monsters in my hand!"
Having figured out his opponent's deck, Youye activated Magical Eyes Skill Drain.
"Hahahaha! From the intelligence, I thought you were someone impressive. Without Master Duel, you're nothing but a rookie!"
"Once you activated Magical Eyes Skill Drain, you lost your chance to activate Effect Veiler. In this situation, that's like cutting off your own arm! If I don't destroy your Hugin, that means Infinite Impermanence is the only card you can draw to break this deadlock!"
As Dark Insect spoke, he became even more excited. He stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, revealing a sinister smile. "Do your best, genius. My deck is a burn—"
Before Dark Insect could finish, Youye cut him off, impatient with his dawdling. "I know. It's a Burn Damage deck. The moment I saw the Machine Gun you discarded, I already knew."
"...?"
"You're not afraid?" Seeing Youye so calm, Dark Insect's expression immediately stiffened. Thinking of Youye's vast knowledge, he became afraid that he had overlooked something.
After repeatedly confirming Chaos Hunter's effect, he finally relaxed a few seconds later once he was certain he had neither misunderstood the effect nor summoned the wrong monster. He snorted. "Hmph, you're just putting on a brave face. Then pray you draw Infinite Impermanence soon. Otherwise, you can only watch as I burn away your LP wave after wave!"
"Then do your best. I end my turn!" Youye smiled slightly, without the slightest hint of nervousness. Instead, Dark Insect looked increasingly pitiful to him. Dark Insect was gambling on when Youye would draw Infinite Impermanence, but he did not know that Infinite Impermanence was merely the worst option.
The moment he drew a monster, he could immediately make Predaplant Verte Anaconda and turn it into Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon to break the situation. Of course, the exact play depended on the circumstances. Dueling was alive, not a matter of mechanically memorizing formulas.
Before you continue