Yu-Gi-Oh!: Starting with an Underworld Deck, Depressing the World
"This can only be activated when an opponent's monster attacks. My opponent randomly chooses one card from my hand, and if it's a monster card, I can Special Summon it to my field!"
A face-down card flipped up, revealing a cloaked figure who, however one looked at it, didn't seem like a "good guy"!
"Only a topdecking bastard chosen by this duel world could use a card that relies almost entirely on luck..." Jiang He couldn't help grumbling inwardly as he watched.
After all, from what he could see, that hot-blooded idiot Jaden Yuki currently had four cards in his hand.
At best, there was a fifty-fifty chance his opponent would pick a monster card, and Special Summoning it to block an attack from Chazz Princeton's mechanical Gundam would be a decent outcome.
"Hmph, a futile struggle! I choose the card on the far right!" Chazz said.
"You picked it! I Special Summon [Elemental HERO Avian] in Defense Position!" Jaden grinned and placed the rightmost of his four cards on his Duel Disk!
A green figure with wings on its back appeared on the card in Jaden's field, crouching in a defensive stance.
[Elemental HERO Avian] [Level: 3] [Attribute: Wind] [ATK: 1000] [DEF: 1000]
"Sure enough, it's not much different from what I remember..." Seeing the result, Jiang He summed it up inwardly without the slightest surprise.
Although his presence had caused a slight change in the monster that was summoned,
the overall result hadn't changed much.
It was just that the amount of LP that hot-blooded idiot Jaden had locked himself at seemed to be even more dangerously low than in the original timeline...
Sure enough.
Chazz immediately said, "Even if you got lucky and summoned a monster, don't think putting it in Defense Position will completely block the damage."
"[VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon]'s special effect lets it change the battle position of the monster it attacks."
"Switch [Elemental HERO Avian] to Attack Position, and [VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon]'s attack continues!"
Arcs of electricity appeared out of nowhere, and the green winged man, who had just appeared crouching defensively, was helplessly forced to his feet.
He could only watch as the electric laser came shooting toward him!
With a boom, he exploded into a mass of flames and smoke!
Jaden felt a slight sting as his Life Points beeped down from [2800 LP] to [800 LP].
"Jaden...!" Syrus Truesdale immediately grew worried as he watched from a distance.
Alexis Rhodes frowned slightly.
From the two short rounds she'd seen so far, it seemed Chazz had done nothing but utterly dominate Jaden.
She couldn't help glancing over at Jiang He, who was leaning nearby with his eyes lazily narrowed again, as though the outcome had already been decided.
She wondered why he'd become so calm.
It was as though he'd already foreseen Jaden turning the duel around and winning.
And what on earth did that strange "LP lock" he'd mentioned earlier mean...?
"That hot-blooded idiot seems to have a Quick-Play Spell in his deck called [The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh].
It can evolve Winged Kuriboh into [Winged Kuriboh LV10], destroy all Attack Position monsters on his opponent's field, and inflict damage equal to the destroyed monsters' ATK."
As if he'd noticed Alexis's puzzled gaze, Jiang He opened one eye and spoke.
In truth, the spectral spherical little monster standing on his shoulder had called "Kuri, kuri," alerting him to Alexis's gaze and the situation.
"I-I see...!" When Jiang He suddenly opened his eye and explained, Alexis blushed and became a little awkward at being caught sneaking a look. She cleared her throat and nodded.
Then she turned her attention back to the field below.
The next second, she and her two friends saw-
After Jaden drew, an excited smile suddenly appeared on his face.
Did he really draw it...? Alexis thought in surprise, glancing at Jiang He again.
And what happened next immediately confirmed Jiang He's words!
Jaden summoned [Winged Kuriboh] in Defense Position, then set a card and ended his turn.
Together with the two cards in his hand,
that met all the conditions Jiang He had just mentioned!
"Could that face-down card be the Quick-Play Spell [The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh]?!" Jasmine, Alexis's close friend and follower, had thought of the same thing and spoke in surprise.
"[Winged Kuriboh] is a rare monster that reduces the battle damage you take this turn to zero after it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, but if I use [VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon]'s effect to banish it and then attack directly, it'll be over!"
As Chazz spoke, he secretly glanced in Jiang He's direction.
He thought that after defeating Jaden, it would be time to take revenge on that hateful bastard who'd gotten so damn lucky.
But when he looked over, he found Jiang He still wearing a very calm expression.
And beside him was Alexis Rhodes, the queen of Obelisk Blue and the most popular girl at Duel Academy...
What's more, Alexis and her friends were all looking at him with pity.
"..." Chazz was dumbfounded.
What was going on?
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell [The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh]! Its effect lets me discard two cards from my hand to the Graveyard and evolve [Winged Kuriboh] on my field into [Winged Kuriboh LV10]!"
At that critical moment, Jaden suddenly flipped his face-down card and made his move.
"Nani?!" Chazz, Professor Crowler, and the other spectators all looked over in astonishment.
In the light released by the activated Spell Card, the wings of Jaden's Winged Kuriboh grew much larger, and a small golden dragon-bird-shaped helmet appeared on its head.
It somewhat resembled the head of The Winged Dragon of Ra.
It had evolved into [Winged Kuriboh LV10].
Jiang He was willing to call it The Winged Dragon of Ra's little brother, "The Kuriboh Dragon of Ra."
"[Winged Kuriboh LV10]'s special effect lets me Tribute it to destroy all Attack Position monsters on my opponent's field and inflict damage equal to the combined ATK of the destroyed monsters!"
Jaden said with a smile.
"[VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon] has 3000 ATK, and the card you drew this turn shouldn't be a monster you can summon, right, Chazz?
So if I draw a monster that's Level 4 or lower and has at least 1000 ATK next turn..."
"This duel is about to get really interesting!"
Chapter 39: Jiang He: Time to Spread Laughter and Love
Jiang He had no doubts whatsoever about the luck of a topdecking bastard chosen by fate, or his bond with the monster spirits in his deck!
On the distant field, Chazz had just been forced to end his turn, his expression grim.
When it was Jaden's turn to draw, he immediately placed the card he'd just drawn on his Duel Disk!
Amid a faint flicker of electricity, he summoned [Elemental HERO Sparkman], with 1600 ATK!
That was even 600 ATK more than Chazz's remaining [1000 LP].
"H-how is that possible?!" Chazz stared at the scene, unable to accept it.
An electric attack instantly wiped out his remaining [1000 LP]!
"Mamma mia, even with so many rare cards, that Slifer Red dropout still won...!" Professor Crowler couldn't accept it either, and his face fell.
He'd spent a considerable amount of his savings buying all those rare cards!
But Professor Crowler soon began to console himself.
"Ra Yellow's Bastion Misawa also got rare cards. If he can defeat dropout boy Jiang He, that would be perfectly acceptable too...!"
Besides, dropout boy was the more important one!
"Is this that... L-LP lock?"
Seeing the result on the distant dueling field, Alexis gave Jiang He an odd look.
She seemed to have suddenly grasped roughly what he'd meant by the strange term "LP lock"...
"That was amazing, Jaden!" Nearby, Syrus welcomed Jaden back.
Jiang He also nodded in greeting to Jaden, who returned to their side, scratching his head and laughing.
"Now for the next six pairs of opponents in the practical lesson duels. Those whose names are called, please step forward from the viewing area."
At the same time, the blond mushroom-headed professor's distinctive voice rang out once more from the middle of the dueling field below.
"Obelisk Blue second-year Shinobu Kocho, versus Obelisk Blue second-year..."
"And the last two opponents: Ra Yellow's Bastion Misawa, versus Slifer Red's Jiang He!"
As soon as Crowner called those names, a large number of Duel Academy students in the viewing area were astonished.
"Another duel between people from different dorms in practical class?"
"That Slifer Red student named Jiang He must be the lucky guy from the recent Duel Academy rumors, the one who drew all five sealed Exodia the Forbidden One pieces in his opening hand and won his entrance duel, right?"
"He does have that impressive win against Professor Crowler, and he seemed to do well in theory class too, but is it really okay to arrange this matchup...?"
Many Duel Academy students in the viewing area immediately began discussing it.
Quite a few even covered their mouths and snickered, treating it as a joke.
"These people at the academy...!" Alexis vaguely heard the voices around her and frowned.
She was rather displeased!
Even her two close friends and followers, Jasmine and Mindy, were frowning too.
Leaving everything else aside, Jiang He had indeed defeated Alexis head-on just last night.
By saying those things now, weren't these people indirectly saying that Alexis wasn't strong enough too?
"Jiang He..." Alexis turned to the side, about to say something to him.
Suddenly, she noticed that Jiang He had already walked off toward the dueling field at a leisurely pace, without her noticing when he'd left.
"Honestly, this guy..." Alexis said with a smile.
It seemed he hadn't taken the words of those ignorant weaklings to heart at all.
He simply wasn't the type who needed someone to comfort him.
"There's no need to worry at all. Jiang He's really strong! Actually, Bastion Misawa was the stronger opponent he had Professor Crowler assign him after he turned down Chazz!"
Hearing the commotion, Jaden spoke to Alexis with great confidence in Jiang He.
"He's also got a partner with him, just like Winged Kuriboh!"
As someone who could also see Duel Monster spirits, Jaden had spotted the Sphere Kuriboh following along on Jiang He's shoulder as soon as he returned.