Kaiba Corp's Masterpiece

"Gear Commander Blaster Spinner (LV8)"

"Attribute/Earth"

"Type/Machine"

"ATK/2500 DEF/2500"

There were no special effects or projections; in this simplest of duels, all that could be heard was the sound of cards hitting the table.

But Yu Ming felt his face burning, as if the robot on the card art had reached out and slapped him.

"A Geargia monster, huh..."

"Is something wrong?"

"...No, nothing."

Although he really wanted to complain, on second thought, he could only swallow his bitterness in this situation.

After all, no one stipulated that the young master of Kaiba Corporation had to use that 'creation of heaven and earth' deck, right?

And if he had to say something...

"I don't think I've seen this card before."

Although Geargia monsters already existed in the DM era, most people's impressions of them probably remained with the three Geargia monsters: Red, Yellow, and Green.

Little Yugi, after all, had used them to deliver an exciting duel, and their mutual searching even led to the development of things like Geargia.

But putting aside the fact that "Dog Card" (referring to Konami, the company that produces the game) routinely creates archetypes to trick people into spending money in real life, in the anime timeline, it wasn't until the movie Dark Side of Dimensions that supplementary gold and silver parts and classic trap monsters appeared.

Applying that logic...

"This isn't an Industrial Illusions card, is it?"

"That's right."

Noah said with a smile.

"To have enough ability to contend with the harsh environment here, and to be able to protect ourselves, we can't place our hopes on those old cards. So, we've had no choice but to focus on developing new cards with multiple effects."

Well... how to put it, this sounded a bit like an arms race.

But putting that aside, Noah brought up a crucial fact.

"So, these are cards you've created?"

"Mm, I'm sure you've already seen the 'Motor' that Keith used; that's also our creation. It's just that most of these are still in the testing phase and aren't very stable yet."

"I see, so you have a lot of new cards here..."

Noah simply smiled in response.

Though he didn't directly answer, he slowly revealed a card.

"Now, I activate this card's effect."

It was a monster.

"'Geargia Commander Spinner'—this card can equip 'Geargia' monsters that were previously used as material, and then..."

Noah slowly placed it down.

"Special Summon."

"Geargia Commander Spinner (LV4)"

"Attribute/Earth"

"Type/Machine"

"ATK/0 DEF/2000"

Then, he moved two monsters that had previously been sent to the Graveyard to the Spell/Trap Zone.

"My 'Geargia Soldier' and 'Geargia Green' in the Graveyard are equipped as Equip Cards. For every Geargia monster 'Geargia Commander' absorbs, its ATK increases by 1000, so its ATK is 2000."

"Geargia Commander"

"ATK/0 → 2000"

Just like that, in only the first turn, Noah already had two monsters on his field.

But precisely because it was the first turn, he couldn't possibly expend a large amount of resources on accumulating monsters.

"Both monsters have high ATK. It would be a shame if they left the field just like that."

"Yes, which is why I need to solidify my defense—with this card."

Clunk.

The card slowly dropped. Although there were still no special effects, Yu Ming couldn't tear his eyes away.

That card was...

"Continuous Spell 'Geargia Army's Defense Perimeter'."

Though it was just a single card, Yu Ming felt as if he could see a steel cannon slowly rising, clearing a vacuum with a laser.

"As long as I have a Level 7 or higher Machine monster on my field, you cannot target my Level 6 or lower Machine monsters for attacks or effects."

"Geargia…"

Yu Ming's expression became a bit subtle as he looked at the familiar archetype.

"Is this also a Kaiba Corp masterpiece?"

"Yes, I imagine you already know Kaiba Corporation is a military-industrial company."

A military-industrial company making mechs didn't sound wrong, but Yu Ming still felt a sarcastic remark stuck in his throat.

And in the strange silence, Noah continued his move:

"I haven't Normal Summoned this turn yet, so I'll Special Summon 'Geargia Red' in Defense Position from my hand."

Geargia Red Attribute: Earth Type: Machine ATK/1300 DEF/1500

After placing the third monster sideways, he picked up his deck.

"When 'Geargia Red' is successfully Summoned, I can add one 'Geargia Yellow' from my Deck to my hand."

Now, he had used his Normal Summon opportunity.

With that, aside from the 'Geargia Yellow' that was practically revealed, he only had one card left in his hand.

And that last card was…

"Continuous Spell, 'Machine Drive Night'."

Clack

Grind

As the card landed, Yu Ming seemed to hear the sound of gears meshing, a massive factory coming to life.

"As long as this card is on the field, face-up monsters on the field are converted into Machine-Type, and this card supports my battle situation."

As for how it supports, there's a very simple rule in card games.

"My Machine-Type monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF, while monsters you Summon lose 500 points."

Geargia Red DEF/1500 → 2000

Geargia Commander ATK/2000 → 2500

Gear Commander Blaster Spinner ATK/2500 → 3000

Holding the last card in his hand, Noah smiled slightly.

"I'll end my turn here."

Finally, three monsters stood on the opponent's field, none with less than 2000 ATK or DEF. At the same time, there was also a magic card providing support in the back row.

"Can I see the card effect?"

"Please."

Yu Ming picked up the 'Gear Commander Blaster Spinner' from the field. Its effect text was just as he remembered—whether treated as an Equip Card or a Monster Card, as long as there was a 'Geargia' monster on the field, this card could not be destroyed by battle or card effects.

This meant…

"At that point, if I think about it conventionally, I can only choose to attack it or target it with an effect, but it can't be destroyed by battle or effects. And even if it could be destroyed, even in a worst-case scenario…"

Yu Ming picked up the 'Geargia Army's Defense Perimeter'.

"This card can quickly retrieve monsters from the Graveyard."

"Yes, this is my… no, rather, Kaiba Corporation's current defensive perimeter."

Looking at Noah's seemingly confident smile, Yu Ming's expression became subtle.

He suddenly felt like his identity as a transmigrator was fake.

System, other people's cards are better than what you sell. Do you have any thoughts on this?

"Are you troubled?"

Noah seemed to have noticed something.

When Yu Ming put the 'Gear Commander Blaster Spinner' back, he saw the boy reveal an apologetic expression.

"Life here doesn't allow us to unfold slowly, like in reality, or to test each other. Because Shadow Games torment our minds and wills, we've gotten used to giving it our all from the very beginning… I hope you don't see this as a form of bullying."

Oh, so you know that throwing out something like this is a dimensionality reduction attack, huh?

Not only did you immediately drop a 2500 ATK big guy with a card-destroying effect, but now you're also restricting attack and effect targets, and boosting values to 3000 points.

But…

"Of course not. If anything, it makes it more challenging."

Yu Ming glanced at his hand and smiled.

"There's no sense of accomplishment unless you defeat a strong opponent, right?"

"It's great that you think that way."

"Well then, without further ado, I'll begin."

Meeting Noah's gaze, Yu Ming reached for his deck.

"My turn, draw."

After a quick look at the card he drew, he added it to his hand.

Then…

"I set three cards, then activate a Spell Card."

He slammed a card down.

"「Magical Armory」."