Chapter 141: Keeping the Appointment
Chapter 141: Keeping the Appointment
Keiping once again generously showed You Xuan their current extensive inventory at the headquarters.
As the heavy military alloy doors slowly opened with the release of the password lock, You Xuan had to admit that the sight before him was quite impressive.
The vast space was almost entirely filled with Duel Monsters cards, a romantic sight for any Duelist. It was his first time witnessing such a vast collection, like a tempting treasure cave.
Tall display cabinets lined the walls, standing tall like proud guardians. The variety of cards within were astounding, organized by year and type, showcasing the evolution of the game from the early days of Professor Bem's discovery of the Duel Monsters stone tablets.
This place felt less like a warehouse and more like a library.
It wasn't just the diverse array of cards on display but also the traces of the game's history. The cabinets didn't just store cards; they encapsulated every era of Duel Monsters, preserving the trajectory of progress made by countless explorers.
Keiping didn't specify a limit but told You Xuan to take as he pleased. However, You Xuan knew better than to be greedy and decided to prioritize the cards on his list.
After all, this world's cards were extraordinary, and even Kaiba Corporation's inventory had its limits. Nonetheless, this place was already a sacred site for countless Duelists, with many out-of-print and rare cards that even the Academy branch struggled to obtain.
For example, there was a trap card favored by Kaiba himself during the DM era, an ancient forbidden card—the Virus of the Card-destroying Death.
The version Kaiba used had a slightly different effect from the actual card.
The old effect of the Destruction Virus trap card was to destroy all monsters with an ATK of 1500 or higher in the opponent's hand, field, and deck by tributing a DARK attribute monster with an ATK of 1000 or lower from your field.
This effect was deemed too powerful and was banned until 2015 when it was re-released with a weakened effect.
Even the old effect differed from the one used in the anime. In the animation, Kaiba's Destruction Virus effect would activate when one of his DARK attribute monsters with an ATK of 1000 or lower was destroyed in battle, destroying all monsters with an ATK of 1500 or higher in the opponent's hand, field, and deck.
With today's standards, this effect might not be as impressive as the old card effect. Firstly, it required one of his monsters to be "destroyed in battle" to trigger, which could be inconvenient.
Secondly, "destroying all monsters with an ATK of 1500 or higher in the opponent's deck" essentially meant filling their graveyard with a whole deck's worth of monsters. Against some graveyard-centric decks, this move could be suicidal, leading to your swift defeat.
However, in the early days when graveyard utilization wasn't as prominent, the power to destroy an entire deck's worth of monsters was formidable.
It was unusual for Kaiba, known for his aggressive domination strategies, to employ such an underground tactic, and he had even used it more than once or twice.
After some consideration, You Xuan decided to add this card to his collection. While such a powerful weapon could backfire if used indiscriminately, it could also be incredibly effective in specific situations.
Most of the other cards he picked were unremarkable, mainly to expand his fusion card collection. However, he didn't have a fusion-focused deck as his main build, and these cards were chosen specifically for a system designed around the spell card "Sudden Mutation."
The remaining cards he took were either useful for specific builds or had high rarity value, commanding a good price.
As expected, most fusion monsters without summoning restrictions from this era were weak, and their primary purpose was to ensure that the "Chaos Mutant Phoenix God" deck had monsters of various levels that could use "Sudden Mutation" to transform.
Another rare card that caught his attention was a Soul Monster.
Tsukuyomi.
A four-star monster with 1100 ATK, its effect allowed you to change one face-up monster on the field to face-down Defense Position when it was summoned. Additionally, at the end of the turn, it would return to its owner's hand.
In other words, it essentially functioned as a "Book of Moon" once per turn, though it occupied a normal summon.
One of the infamous decks criticized for this was the Imperial series. The higher-level monsters in this series each had incredibly powerful effects, but their greatest weakness was that their defense points were uniformly 1000, a mere 100 points lower than the so-called Human-shaped Book of Moon, "Tsukuyomi," which was quite embarrassing.
In other words, if you summoned an upper-level Emperor by tributing a monster, your opponent could simply normal summon Tsukuyomi, flip the Emperor into face-down defense position, and knock it out with a single punch. Moreover, Tsukuyomi could self-recover, returning to the hand to be reused the next turn.
This essentially meant exchanging a single normal summon resource to take down a high-level monster, a profitable trade-off in terms of resource management.
Nevertheless, the gains from this trip to Kaiba Corporation were already substantial. Not only had he taken another step towards evolving Chaos into its perfect form, but he had also obtained the key material for the Ritual Chaos, significantly strengthening his deck's endgame.
However, he recalled that there was another crucial monster in this deck back in the day—a powerful endpoint that could effortlessly turn the tables in desperate situations and had once been banned due to its overly high investment rate and straightforward minotaur-like effect.
The Thousand-Eyes Restrict.
It was Rebecca Hawkins' ace monster during the Duelist Kingdom arc and a rare Level 1 Fusion monster. Putting its monster effect aside, the fact that both its attack and defense points were 0 was a clear indication that it wasn't to be trifled with.
Its signature effect allowed it to absorb monsters on the opponent's field, equipping them to itself and gaining their attack and defense points. It wasn't just a staple in the Chaos deck; it was a must-have sideboard option in many competitive decks back then.
Unfortunately, it seemed that even the Kaiba Corporation's warehouse didn't have it.
You Xuan specifically inquired with Keiping, who shook his head to indicate that they didn't have it.
That made sense, as it was Rebecca's ace card and a unique card created by the Father of Duel Monsters for her. It was unlikely to be found anywhere else.
"However, I do recall that Rebecca released a reprint of it as some sort of tournament promotional card," Keiping recalled.
"International Illusion Society might have it then," Keiping added.
". "
You Xuan fell into deep thought.
Even if that were the case, he didn't have any connections with the International Illusion Society.
Oh, there was that Mecha Professor he had just beaten up. Perhaps he could be considered a half-connection. But the guy probably wasn't too keen on having a friendly chat with him.
". "
Unknowingly, he had spent most of the day in the warehouse. Carrying another box of cards, You Xuan left the warehouse feeling content. He returned to the previous office and found Keiping.
"It seems you've found some cards to your liking," Keiping remarked with a smile.
"Yes, thank you," You Xuan replied.
Keiping waved his hand dismissively. "It's no problem at all. As I said before, if you really want to thank me, don't disappoint me on the dueling field.
As long as you give me a satisfying duel, this small investment is nothing."
That certainly sounded like something the president would say.
After all, he had gone to great lengths to have cards to play with, from creating the Satellite Cannon to summoning the Reaper of the Cards. In comparison, the cost of a few cards to satisfy his dueling itch was negligible.
Keiping stood up. "Well, I should be heading out now."
You Xuan asked, "Are you going to the Pegasus Foundation?"
"Yes, I haven't been in direct contact with him for quite some time, so I want to see what he's up to. But it's quite unexpected," Keiping said as he sized up You Xuan.
"He specifically requested that if possible, he would like to meet you."
"Me?"
"Yes, perhaps your duel earlier left a deep impression on him," Keiping said. "But don't worry too much about it. If you don't want to go, I can decline on your behalf.
So, are you heading back to the academy now, or...?"
You Xuan thought about it.
At this hour, even if he returned to the academy, there probably wouldn't be much going on. Most likely, he would just head back to rest.
"I don't have any plans either," You Xuan shrugged. "Since he's invited me so sincerely, I might as well go and see."
(End of Chapter)
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