At this very moment / Compatibility

The Set Card in the middle was sent to the graveyard along with it.

"That Set Card was... Threatening Roar?" Sera recognized the Trap Card at a glance and could not help sneering. "I never expected you to include such a weak, powerless card. Can a Trap Card without any destructive power even be called a 'Trap' Card?"

"Huh?" Before Hara Shichi could say anything, Ai was already displeased. "This brat looks awfully arrogant."

Hara Shichi agreed with Ai. "If you cannot understand the significance of Threatening Roar, then your dueling level is nothing special."

"What did you... say?!" The darkness spread across Sera's originally adorable little face, and an invisible killing intent radiated from her petite body.

"Fine. Julie, you do not mind if I teach this underclassman a lesson, right?" Sera said, but she did not care about Julie's answer as she placed her hand on her Duel Disk.

"My turn, draw!"

"I think he is the one who will teach you a lesson." Julie said disdainfully.

"Um, is Senior Sera angry?" Yukikaze quietly asked as she watched Sera.

"Do you think she has a good personality or something?" Julie snorted.

"She is just a bastard who sleeps on her talent, arrogant, lazy, and utterly reckless."

"Do not let her cute appearance fool you."

"She is a wolf in sheep's clothing."

At This Very Moment

"I enter the Main Phase." As Sera spoke, she inserted a card into her Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card—Pot of Desires! I banish six random cards from my Extra Deck face-down, then draw two cards from my deck!"

"Hey, that is a bit excessive, is it not? I only have one Extra Deck monster..." Hara Shichi grumbled as he watched his opponent banish six Extra Deck monsters without hesitation.

"Do not worry. I have accumulated quite a bit of Duel Energy already. We will do some Card Printing when we get back tonight," Ai hurriedly reassured him.

"Six... six cards?!" Yukikaze was even more shocked. She did not even have a single Extra Deck monster!

"Six weak monsters that are not even as good as White Rabbit's Fusion monsters." Julie yawned. "Stuff like Flame Ghost, Undead Warrior, and Rare Fish—just cheap trash. They are probably White Boards that do not even have two thousand ATK, so do not overthink it."

"Their only purpose is to feed the Pot."

"Is that so... I thought they would be monsters on the same level as your Dragon of the Underworld, Senior Julie." Yukikaze patted her chest in relief.

"Next, I Normal Summon Lankaa the Entomologist and add Thio the Entomologist from my deck to my hand." Sera waved her little hand and pointed at Hara Shichi. "Then, I enter the Battle Phase!"

"I use Lankaa to attack Madolche Madeleine!"

The witch had barely flipped face-up before a scantily dressed little girl stomped her barefooted back into the deck.

"You really can tell what kind of deck someone uses by the kind of person they are..." Hara Shichi analyzed as he looked at the Traptrix girls' petite bodies, then at Sera's childish figure.

"Where are your eyes looking?" Ai reached out and covered Hara Shichi's eyes.

"Wait, what are you doing? We are still dueling." Hara Shichi said helplessly.

"Then you are not allowed to look at Lankaa's stomach or thighs on the other side of the field," Ai said coldly.

It was true that compared to the Traptrix who had appeared earlier, Lankaa was wearing a little less fabric, but...

"Do you think I am interested in that body type?" Hara Shichi asked in pained disbelief.

"Not interested?" Ai gently blew hot air against Hara Shichi's ear.

Damn it, did she not say spirits could not touch anything? Why could she blow air?

"N-No."

"Not even a little?" Ai sounded somewhat angry.

"Uh, maybe a tiny little bit." Hara Shichi swallowed.

"Mm, you can be, but you are not allowed to stare. Understand?" Ai slowly loosened her hand as she spoke.

"And I have some good news for you."

"Hmm?"

"Because the Duel Power I have accumulated recently has been increasing, my body is gradually getting closer to becoming tangible." Ai blushed.

"Huh?" Hara Shichi froze slightly, but before he could react, an impact sent him flying.

"I use Traptrix for a direct attack!"

"Cough, cough!" Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Hara Shichi collapsed onto the floor.

"I told you to focus on the duel while you are dueling." Ai looked down at Hara Shichi.

"Hara Shichi, are you all right?" Yukikaze hurried over and helped him up.

"You... are that weak physically?" Julie was rather surprised.

"I do not have much experience with this sort of thing." Hara Shichi explained as he got to his feet.

Not much experience with this sort of thing? What did that mean? Had he rarely let his opponent attack him?

Julie wanted to curse.

But she held it in.

"Oh my, are you already unable to hold on when we have only just begun?" Sera laughed at Hara Shichi's bedraggled state, and half her anger faded away. "If you apologize now, Senior can forgive you for being young and ignorant."

"What are you talking about? We have only just begun, have we not?" Hara Shichi said calmly.

But it would be over soon.

"I Set one card and end my turn. Your move."

"My turn, draw." Hara Shichi looked at the card he had drawn, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

The equation for victory was complete.

"I Normal Summon Madolche Puddingcess."

The adorable Madolche Puddingcess appeared on the field. Though both sides were little girls, Madolche Puddingcess and the Traptrix had completely different aesthetics.

One was a pure and adorable little angel, while the other was a sexy, seductive little devil.

"You are not activating your Trap? Then I will continue." Hara Shichi sent Madolche Puddingcess to the graveyard. "I activate Madolche Puddingcess's effect, tribute this card, and Special Summon Madolche Puddingscess from my deck."

"It is fine, go on." Sera smiled. It was not time yet.

"I activate Puddingscess's effect, banish Madolche Puddingcess from my graveyard, and Special Summon Glace-Glace Mailman. I activate Mailman's effect. When this card is Special Summoned, if there is a Marincess Beast-Type monster on the field, I add Mewfeuille Castle from my deck to my hand."

"Next, I activate the Spell Card—Reinforcement of the Army." Hara Shichi inserted a card from his hand into his Duel Disk. "I add Mailman from my deck to my hand."

"Mailman needs to be Special Summoned to activate its effect, right? What is the point of adding it to your hand?" Sera asked curiously.

"Of course, I will Special Summon it from my hand." Hara Shichi flipped open his Set Card. "I activate the Trap Card—Madolche Festival."

"This card's effect lets me Special Summon any number of monsters with 'Marincess' in their names from my hand. Monsters Special Summoned by this effect return to their owners' decks during the End Phase."

"Another Trap Card without any offensive power." Sera frowned. In her eyes, Trap Cards existed to resist and destroy. What kind of Trap was a Trap Card that could not harm the opponent?

"Is that what you think?" Hara Shichi suddenly asked. "You think Trap Cards are cards used to disrupt the opponent's plays?"

"Is that not the case? Otherwise, why are they called Trap Cards?" Sera countered. This was knowledge she had learned from the few classes she had seriously attended.

"That is why... how are you still allowed to remain in the academy when you only attended a few classes in your first year and barely went to class after that?" Julie naturally understood why Sera thought that way.

Because that was what their first-year teacher had taught in the basic lessons at the beginning of the term.

Their second-year teacher had changed that explanation.

"Trap Cards are merely cards that must be Set for one turn before they can be used. They are not solely for disruption," Hara Shichi said. "As for why they must be Set for one turn before activation... naturally, it is because they are powerful."

"Because of Marincess Waltz's effect, I Special Summon Madolche Madeleine and Mailman from my hand. I activate Mailman's effect and add Magicalized Pâtissière Ticket from my deck to my hand."

"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Card—Madolche Ticket." Hara Shichi inserted Madolche Ticket into his Duel Disk.

"Ai, come on."

"I have been ready."

Colorful light flowed between them. Hara Shichi took Tiramisu of the Tiara from his Extra Deck and shouted, "I overlay the two Mailmen on my field! Two monsters construct the Xyz Network! Xyz Summon—Madolche Queen Tiramisu!"

The elegant Madolche Queen Tiramisu appeared once more!

"This is what I was waiting for!" Sera abruptly flipped open her Set Card. "I chain the Trap Card—Forced Back!"

"I can activate this card by targeting one monster on the field. That monster returns to its owner's hand!"

"I choose Madolche Queen Tiramisu!"

Compatibility

"An unexpected card has appeared." Ai rested her chin on her hand as she looked at the Set Card revealed on the opponent's field.

Unlike the Bottomless Trap Hole Sera had used earlier, Forced Back was extremely versatile. It could also prevent certain monsters from triggering their graveyard effects, or deal with monsters that came with destruction resistance.

"Do you understand now why I said she has talent?" Julie asked calmly.

"It is because of Trap Cards, right?" Yukikaze had already caught on. She recalled what Julie had told her in the library before.

"Because Skill Drain is too powerful, every time she uses it, she vomits blood from forcibly controlling it."

"Side effects. Powerful Trap Cards have side effects, but Senior Sera does not seem uncomfortable at all."

No, it was more than just a lack of discomfort. Since the duel began, this senior who had originally seemed lazy and listless had only grown more excited.

"More accurately, it is backlash caused by a Duel Power level that is too low," Julie patiently explained. "Unlike Spell Cards, most Spell Cards you cannot use will merely fail to activate or cause an explosion. Trap Cards, however, often affect the body directly. With top-tier Trap Cards like Solemn Strike, if you do not have the corresponding level, you might even burst from blood loss and die."

"So Senior Sera can use Trap Cards so casually because her Duel Power level is high?"

"Wrong. It is compatibility." Julie pulled her ace, Dragon of the Underworld, from her card box and showed it to Yukikaze.

"The moment I first came into contact with Zombie-Type monsters, I understood something."

"That was that I had extremely high compatibility with Zombies. Compared to decks of other races, using Zombies came more naturally to me, and I had a higher degree of affinity with them."

"That is compatibility."

"And clearly, Sera has the same kind of compatibility with Trap Cards."

"She was probably born able to control Trap Cards freely. She does not need to pay the price other duelists must pay, endure the torment other duelists must endure, or bear the resolve other duelists must bear."

"To her, activating Trap Cards is as effortless, casual, and natural as eating and drinking."

"If the gods prepared a gift for every child, then mine would be a biscuit to stave off hunger, while hers would be a box of exquisite candy."

"Is it not great to have compatibility with Zombies too?" Yukikaze comforted her. "I think that is an amazing talent, Senior Julie. Do not put yourself down."

Julie did not respond to that.

Because strictly speaking, her supposed compatibility with Zombies was only a little better.

It simply made them a little easier to control, and made it easier to print Zombie-related monsters during Card Printing.

That was all. Most so-called compatibilities were practically useless like that, and many people did not choose decks that matched their compatibility.

If you had a tiny bit of talent for piano, would you spend a fortune learning it?

If your talent was not at that level, there was no need.

But Sera was different. Sera's compatibility was genuinely useful. Against duelists her age, it was practically a dimensionality-reducing strike.

Fortunately, top-tier Trap Cards were also extremely rare. Otherwise, what Hara Shichi would be facing now would probably be things like Imperial Order, Big Capture, and Solemn Strike...

"What do we do, A-Qi? We no longer have the resources to perform a second Xyz Summon." Ai furrowed her adorable brows.

"I had wanted to end this quickly, but I expected this much." Hara Shichi inserted a card into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Field Spell Card—Mewfeuille Castle. When this card is activated, all Marincess cards in the graveyard return to the deck. The two Mailmen in my graveyard return to my deck."

"At this moment, Madolche Ticket's effect is triggered. I can search my deck for one Marincess monster, and I choose Magicalized Pâtissière - Jelly Angel."

"Then I end my turn." After adding Magicalized Pâtissière - Jelly Angel to his hand, Hara Shichi immediately declared.

"What?!"

Sera suspected she had misheard. "Your Madolche Madeleine and Madolche Puddingscess have higher ATK than the Traptrix on my field, do they not? You are ending your turn without attacking?"

"Because there is no need." Julie's dark red eyes looked calmly at Sera. "Traptrix do not have any in-archetype Fusion or Synchro monsters. Even if you leave your monsters on the field, there is nothing you can do. In any case, you cannot get past Hara Shichi's Madolche Madeleine and Puddingscess, can you?"