Chapter 63: A Strong Duelist's Choice
Chapter 63: A Strong Duelist's Choice
A few days later, Koyo sent Yu Xuan the list of rare cards that were originally intended for Duel Academy, just as he had promised.
As expected, the "VWXYZ" series that Yu Xuan had anticipated took center stage. Without hesitation, he immediately selected this series for himself.
Since the cards were meant to be distributed through Duel Academy's internal sales channels, the prices were incredibly low compared to the outside market. Furthermore, Yu Xuan still had most of the bonus he received from KaibaCorp, so his budget was more than sufficient.
Next on his list was the "Treasure Hammer" used by Manjome in the anime. Its effect allowed the player to shuffle any number of cards from their hand back into their deck and then draw the same number of cards. It was a useful card to have in case of a bad hand.
However, the physical card's effect had been nerfed to "shuffle and replace cards other than this one from your hand," resulting in a net loss of one card, which significantly reduced its practicality.
Yu Xuan pondered for a moment. While it could still be used to refresh one's hand without card disadvantage if it followed the anime effect, such deck-searching effects were generally unpopular in this anime-effect-centric environment, to begin with, let alone this card's more restrictive effect.
Moreover, with the abundance of anime-limited draw and search spells he had stockpiled, the "Treasure Hammer" seemed even more redundant.
Nonetheless, it appeared to be one of the cheapest cards in the entire box, and although it wasn't useful in regular play, it seemed to have some niche applications in specific gimmick decks. Thus, he decided to acquire three copies.
He then spotted the crucial plot card, "Evolution Wing." By discarding two cards from the hand, it allowed Winged Kuriboh to evolve into its Level 10 rare form.
However, only one person in all of Duel Academy possessed Winged Kuriboh, and that was Jaden, so this card might as well have been printed with the words "Exclusive to Jaden Yuki." Yu Xuan had the regular Kuriboh, not the winged variety, so this card was of no use to him. He decided to let Jaden have it.
After making his selections, it seemed there wasn't much left for Manjome.
"Don't worry," Koyo assured him. "We'll add more rare cards before sending them to Duel Academy."
Yu Xuan smiled. Well, he thought, these good cards would probably end up soaked and ruined in Manjome's hands anyway, so he might as well take them to prevent waste.
There were only two days left until the start of the new term at Duel Academy.
The day before his departure for the island, Yu Xuan paid one last visit to the dojo to bid farewell to the dojo master and the other students.
Upon entering, he found the students kneeling on the floor with their heads bowed low while Dojo Master Takeuchi stood in front of them, lecturing passionately.
Intrigued, Yu Xuan approached and listened for a moment, soon grasping the situation.
In essence, Dojo Master Takeuchi was unhappy with the current state of affairs, where the students were taking pleasure in exacting revenge on society through their duels.
Furthermore, the students had discovered that their fellow dojo members were also part of this underworld, but they found that being in the same underworld together diminished their enjoyment. As a result, they turned their attention to the nearby Duel Arenas.
Soon, rumors began to spread in the surrounding areas about the Silent Dojo. It was said that every duelist from that dojo was a messenger from hell, taking pleasure in sending all their opponents to the underworld, regardless of whether they won or lost the duel. As long as their opponents couldn't play the game afterward, they were satisfied.
What's more, this trend seemed to be spreading like a plague, infecting more and more people in its wake.
Dojo Master Takeuchi could never have imagined that one day, his Silent style would truly come into prominence, but not in the way he had envisioned. Instead of instilling silence through their duels, they were quite literally sending their opponents to the underworld.
By now, the students at the dojo had thoroughly analyzed Yu Xuan's deck from the Moon Festival tournament.
However, through his recent duels and in-depth studies of the anime's dueling environment, Yu Xuan was beginning to understand that a duelist's deck in this world was not solely dependent on its constructed strength.
A perfect example of this was when Shou Marufuji from the anime, used Kaiba's deck against Jaden, only to be defeated. Both Jaden and Zane had explained this phenomenon in their own ways.
According to Zane, a duelist must build their deck with their own emotions and personal touch, forging a connection that allows the deck to respond to their heart's desires and unleash its full potential. Using someone else's deck, no matter how well you imitate their tactics, will never bring victory because it is not truly yours.
Yu Xuan interpreted this concept as a decrease in one's "duel destiny." While copying a strong deck may seem advantageous, it could also increase the chances of drawing the wrong cards at critical moments, ultimately hindering one's personal growth as a duelist.
Therefore, many duels in the anime emphasized the importance of infusing one's "soul" into their deck. Sometimes, it wasn't just about flashy and impressive moves; it was about connecting with your cards to gain an edge when facing skilled opponents. In light of these insights, Yu Xuan had been contemplating how to strike a balance between competitive strategies and infusing his deck with his unique spirit.
In other words, he wanted to find a balance between competitiveness and soul.
However, when it came to the level of his peers at the dojo, he felt that copying a strong deck wasn't necessarily a bad idea.
After all, from his observations, most of the students lacked the innate talent and destiny for dueling, and their skills were unlikely to improve significantly over their lifetime. However, switching to a more powerful deck could visibly increase their win rate.
Indeed, his brothers-in-arms had been enjoying improved win rates in the arenas ever since they started copying his deck.
It was just a bit detrimental to the dojo's reputation.
"We duelists should all believe in our own decks!" Dojo Master Takeuchi chastised his students for their unoriginality. "A deck built with your own heart and soul is unique to each duelist!"
The students listened intently to his righteous lecture, but one of them couldn't help but whisper under his breath, "But Master, just yesterday, I saw you acquire a 'Confiscation' card, and three days ago, you got your hands on 'Trick Goblin.' "
Dojo Master Takeuchi fell silent for a moment, then crossed his arms and proudly proclaimed, "Those acquisitions merely prove that I think alike with Yu Xuan! Great duelists often share similarities in their card choices, and that is perfectly normal!"
The students could only stare in response.
(End of Chapter)
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