"Are you an idiot? You can attack, but you won't?" Sera rolled her eyes.
Seeing the two of them were about to start arguing, Hara Shichi had no choice but to point at Sera's back row. "If I'm not mistaken, you set an Attack Declaration Trap, didn't you?"
Sera's body stiffened. After a moment of silence, she asked in a low voice, "When did you figure it out?"
"Because it was your only possible choice," Hara Shichi explained. "Traps like Hole cards can generally only be activated when a monster is successfully summoned. If you went second, then against high-ATK monsters already on the field, you could only use something like Forced Back or... an Attack Declaration Trap like Mirror Force to get rid of them, right?"
He guessed my back row?!
Sera instinctively looked at the Set Card on her right. It was the Trap Card she had prepared long ago—Mirror Force!
"So what if you guessed it? You can't win without attacking. You do know that, don't you?"
Hara Shichi smiled faintly and did not answer. "Senior, it's your turn."
Not answering? Fine, anyway...
"Tch. My turn, draw."
Sera's eyes lit up as she looked at the card she had drawn. "I set one card, then enter the Battle Phase!"
"Watch carefully, Julie. You thought I was at a stalemate? Wrong! I already knew this situation would happen!"
"I activate the Trap Card—Raigeki Break!" Sera flipped her Set Card. She had originally intended to use it to stop Hara Shichi's plays, but now that she had drawn that card, there was no need to keep it. "Its effect lets me discard one card and target one card on the field. Destroy that card."
"I discard Thio the Entomologist from my hand and destroy your Mewfeuille Castle!"
"That restores the ATK of your Marincess monsters to their original values!"
"Then, I use Traptrix Tributing to attack Madolche Puddingscess!"
"Madolche Puddingcess's effect prevents her from being destroyed by battle," Hara Shichi said.
"It doesn't matter. I use Lankaa the Entomologist to attack Madolche Madeleine."
Sera continued issuing commands.
"When Madolche Madeleine is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, she returns to the Deck. That also triggers Madolche Ticket's effect, letting me add one Madolche Puddingcess from my Deck to my hand."
Though the attack looked fierce, Hara Shichi had really only lost two hundred LP and one Madolche Madeleine.
Come to think of it... Madolche Madeleine again.
Hara Shichi suddenly thought of that as he returned Madolche Madeleine to the Deck.
Chapter 54: What Does 5-4 Equal?
"My turn, draw."
"She has one Attack Declaration Trap and one unknown card in her back row, two monsters on the field, and no cards in hand," Ai analyzed for Hara Shichi. "In other words, we only need to watch out for the card she just set."
"No, we don't need to worry about it anymore." The instant Hara Shichi saw the card he had drawn, a full combo appeared in his mind.
"You were this confident on your last turn too," Ai said suspiciously.
"Ahem. I guarantee there won't be any accidents this time." As he spoke, Hara Shichi flipped his Set Card. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card—Creature Swap. Its effect lets me target one face-up monster on the field and destroy it. I skip my next Draw Phase."
"I choose Traptrix Tributing on your field and destroy it."
"Hm?" Sera frowned slightly as she sent Traptrix Tributing from her field to the Graveyard. "What's the point of destroying my monster at a time like this?"
"Of course there's a point." Hara Shichi inserted the card he had just drawn into his Duel Disk. "Next, I activate the Normal Spell Card—Monster Reborn!"
"You don't have any monsters in your Graveyard... Wait? Don't tell me you're going to..." Sera realized Hara Shichi's intention, and her little face filled with shock.
"That's right. I Special Summon from your Graveyard—Traptrix Tributing!"
The adorable Traptrix Tributing had barely entered the Graveyard before she was pulled back out, swaying her head from side to side. This time, however, she did not appear on her master's field, but on Hara Shichi's.
"I activate Traptrix Tributing's effect. When this card is Special Summoned, I can target one Spell or Trap Card on my opponent's field and destroy it. I choose the Set Card on your left!"
That was exactly the card Sera had set last turn.
Sera silently sent her Set Card to the Graveyard. It was Lost Wind.
"I never told you about that," Sera said in confusion. "How did you know my monster's effect?"
Was he supposed to tell her that he had used Traptrix before too?
Hara Shichi did not know how to answer, but Julie said carelessly, "Traptrix effects aren't confidential information. Anyone who reads enough books would know them."
"Damn it, so you're a good student?" Sera felt a wave of malice. "But even so, I still have one Trap Card in my back row, and it's an Attack Declaration Trap. How are you going to deal with that?"
"Attack Declaration Trap... Heh." Julie looked at Sera pityingly. The Sera before her reminded Julie of her own Burst Armor. Ever since Hara Shichi had bounced her Tiramisu of the Tiara away that time, Julie had never used an Attack Declaration Trap again.
Hara Shichi summoned Madolche Puddingcess to the field once more.
"I activate Madolche Puddingcess's effect. I tribute Madolche Puddingcess to Special Summon Madolche Messenger from my Deck."
"I activate Madolche Messenger's effect and add Mage of the Madolche Night from my Deck to my hand."
"Then I activate Madolche Puddingscess's effect. I banish Madolche Puddingcess from my Graveyard to Special Summon Madolche Messenger from my Deck."
"Madolche Messenger activates her effect and adds Magicalized Pâtissière Ticket to my hand."
"Then, I overlay the two Madolche Messengers on my field. Two monsters form an Xyz Network! Xyz Summon—Madolche Queen Tiramisu!"
Amid a burst of colorful light, Tiramisu of the Tiara appeared on the field once again.
"Oh, so you summoned it. What of it?" Sera sized up Tiramisu of the Tiara before her. An Xyz Monster was no different from some Fusion Monster or Synchro Monster, was it? It merely had two extra balls of light. "Attack me if you can."
As long as you dared to attack, she would show you what an invincible Mirror Force was! Destroy everything! Turn the duel around with one card!
Yukikaze had already covered her face, unable to bear looking at Senior Sera anymore.
If this kept up, she was afraid she would burst out laughing.
"I activate Madolche Queen Tiramisu's effect. Once per turn, I detach one Xyz Material from this card and target up to two Marincess cards in my Graveyard. Return those cards to the Deck, then return up to the same number of cards on your field to their owner's Deck."
"I return Mewfeuille Castle and Madolche Messenger from my Graveyard to the Deck. Then I choose Lankaa the Entomologist on your field and the Set Card in your back row, returning them to the Deck."
"..."
Sera did not react for a while. She merely stood there blankly.
"That's so unfair."
A tear slid from her green eyes.
"That's so unfair. How can there be such a brainless field-clearing effect?"
"That's so unfair... too unfair... sob..."
Sera began sobbing quietly.
"Then Madolche Ticket's effect triggers. I add Madolche Messenger from my Deck to my hand. Since there is a Fairy Type on the field, I can Special Summon her directly, activate Madolche Messenger's effect, and search from my Deck..." Hara Shichi continued.
"Hey! I'm crying here!" Sera protested aggrievedly. A cute girl was crying right in front of him, yet he ignored her completely. Was this person's heart made of stone?
Hara Shichi paused, glanced at Sera, and continued, "I search Mewfeuille Castle. I activate Mewfeuille Castle. All Marincess monsters on the field gain five hundred ATK and DEF..."
"Enter the Battle Phase. Direct attack."
"Ah!" Sera's delicate body was knocked flying. Fortunately, she landed on the soft bed, so it did not hurt much.
Sera: 4000 LP → 0 LP
"Junior, do you not understand how to treat a lady at all?" Sera sat up in a disheveled state and brushed aside her green hair. That hit had messed up all her hair.
"Your crying was too fake," Hara Shichi answered.
Aside from the first few tears, everything after that had just been a child making a racket.
"What? I really couldn't hold it together, okay?" Sera hugged her knees and swayed back and forth. "I thought I could turn things around with Mirror Force, but it got bounced back to the Deck so easily. Doesn't that make everything I did before... ridiculous?!"
"Have you considered dropping out and working at a circus?" Julie raised an eyebrow.
"Laugh all you want." Sera waved her little hand, signaling that she did not care. "I was simply outmatched."
"Do you have any other questions now?" Julie crossed her arms. "We won the duel."
"More or less." Sera rested her little face on her knees and looked at Hara Shichi. "You're good enough against other people, but if your opponent is Crimson Lotus, Junior, you'll need to work much harder."
"You don't need to worry about that." Julie looked at Sera. "You only need to tell me your attitude now."
"Hmm..." Sera's bare little feet lightly patted the bed. She swept her gaze over the three people present, revealing a sly smile.
"This feels like it'll be interesting. Let me join in too."
Chapter 55: Not Necessarily.
Inside the dorm room, Hara Shichi and Ai sat facing each other on the bed. Between them lay a scattered pile of cards.
"First, let's take stock of the cards we currently have."
As he spoke, Hara Shichi took out every card he had on him.
"Let's remove Double Summon and Gishki Chain from the build," Hara Shichi said.
"But then we won't be able to fill the Graveyard or quickly make Rank 4s," Ai said with a slight frown. She had carefully considered things when she printed those cards.
"They cost too many cards, and going first to make Tiramisu of the Tiara doesn't mean much." Hara Shichi pulled two cards from the pile and showed them to Ai. "So, I have a new idea."
"Emergency Teleport and Psychic Wheeled Warrior?!" Ai stared at the two cards in Hara Shichi's hands in shock. She did not remember printing either of those cards!
"Where did you get those two cards?" Ai asked suspiciously.
"Did you forget? Back when we were at the trial grounds on the back mountain, didn't I have Ghost Ogre knock someone out, then take his Deck while we were at it?" Hara Shichi explained.
"Ah, that did happen."
Ai remembered. He had seemed like some arrogant guy who shouted a lot. She had not expected his Deck to contain rare cards like these.
"His Deck was actually a Synchro-focused Deck, but its ace card..." As Hara Shichi spoke, he pulled out another Synchro Monster and showed it to Ai—Lightning Warrior: When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the number of cards in their hand × 300.
"The effect is a little disappointing."
"It might be pretty useful in a 4000 LP format," Ai said. Especially combined with Psychic Wheeled Warrior, it might even be able to finish someone off directly.
"That makes sense. Looks like my mindset still hasn't switched from an 8000 LP environment." Hara Shichi rubbed his temples. In a 4000 LP format, he had to remain alert for lethal and being killed at all times.
"Then let's add them to the Deck... But the reason I showed you these two cards is... we don't have to limit ourselves to Tiramisu of the Tiara." Hara Shichi explained, "Can you print Pudding Princess now?"
"No." Ai sighed. "If I could, I would have printed her long ago. Marincess with Pudding Princess and Marincess without Pudding Princess are completely different concepts."
"So before we can print Pudding Princess, we can use some other Special Summon starters as substitutes."
"But Tiramisu of the Tiara's summoning condition requires Marincess... Wait? You want me to print a new Extra Deck?" Ai finally understood. Her adorable brows drew together slightly.
"That's right. For example, some Seven Star Synchro Monsters or Level 6 Synchro Monsters, as well as some Rank 3 and Rank 4 Xyz Monsters." Hara Shichi nodded.
"No, no. Extra Deck monsters aren't that easy to print." Ai shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "With my current energy, I can at most help you print a few powerful Traps or Spells, or add some consistency cards. If we print only Extra Deck monsters, we can only print one or two, and they might not even be stronger than Lightning Warrior."
"I've dueled this many times and it's still not enough?" Hara Shichi was dumbfounded.
"You..." Ai said irritably. "Do you know how long normal duelists take to print cards?"
"How long?"
"Once every one to three months, and no more than five cards each time. It's completely random." Ai leaned closer in annoyance and poked Hara Shichi's head with her pale, tender index finger. "You've only been in this world for four or five days, right? You can print cards once a week and you're still not satisfied?!"
"Only four or five days?!" Hara Shichi said in shock. "I thought a month had already passed."
"How could it be that fast?!" Ai snapped.
Only then did Hara Shichi realize it. He had enrolled on Sunday, gone to the back mountain on Monday, dueled Julie and Nero on Tuesday, and Wednesday... Today was only Wednesday?!
"I originally planned for you to develop slowly, step by step. I never expected that only four days after enrolling, you would be challenging the strongest student in this school. I'm the one most surprised here, okay? You've thrown off my entire development plan." Ai felt that she had worried herself sick over Hara Shichi.
"Given the situation back then, I had no choice." Hara Shichi said helplessly. "Isn't there any way to quickly obtain a large amount of Duel Power?"
"How could there be such a good deal? Taking shortcuts won't work. Stay grounded, stay grounded... Huh? Wait." Ai suddenly thought of something and raised her head toward the ceiling.
"What's wrong?" Hara Shichi looked at Ai's smooth jade-like chin and her slender, swan-like neck, unable to help feeling puzzled.
"Shh." Ai stared fixedly at the ceiling—or rather, at the lit lamp on the ceiling. Light flowed through her pale blue eyes.
Only after a long while did she close her eyes, her small lips curling upward slightly. "I have a way."
"What? You have a way to do what?" Hara Shichi was completely confused and did not understand what Ai meant.
Before you continue